Album Details

• Artist: Paramore
• Album: Riot!
• Label: Fueled By Ramen
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: symphony on 2007-06-16

Facing adversity can sometimes be a tough obstacle to overcome. I've said it before, having to overcome yourself is difficult and some bands are exceptionally capable and some aren't. To some this would come off as a negative introduction. It is. Paramore's Riot! sounded like a real winner from the few songs that were streamed before hand. Listening to the album track by track, however, makes me really want boycott instead of riot. It's a disappointing and can be slid into the sophomore slump category. "Oh no he didn't!" holler the fans. I'm sorry but I did.

Don't get me wrong, the album is good. It just didn't overcome the standard placed by All We Know is Falling, which, sadly, isn't even a difficult.The only reason it even matches it is because of the stand out tracks on the album ("Misery Business," "For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic," "Fences," and "Born For This"). These tracks alone make up for the incredibly weak tracks like "That's What You Get" (I'm sorry, Hayley Williams, but even you can't make lyrics like "that's what you get when you let your heart win" sound good) and "When It Rains."

Standing as one of two improvements on the album is Hayley's voice. It's garnered alot of attention as not being powerful enough. To that and those people who say those things, in the infamous words of Dr. Cox from Scrubs, you are wrong, wrong, wrong. Hayley has really grown from All We Know. She doesn't sound as whiny as she used to and she has a more powerful delivery. She is able to keep up with the fast-paced songs of the album better than beforehand ("Misery Business"). Though occassionally the lryics are contrastly cliched and weak at points (revisit my comments concerning "That's What You Get"), she makes the other lyrically weak songs slightly better with a damn good vocal performance.

And hallelujah, praise the Lord for the "Hallelujah" remake. I believe it to be the real surprise of the album. It is a general improvement over the weak demo that was previously transfering hands across the web. You can tell the obvious effort they put into making this song a success. Sadly, this album really leaves you wishing that the effort was evenly distributed over the entire album. Songs like "Let the Flames Begin" sound really catchy but followed by "Miracles," with an intro oddly reminiscent of those of Hawthorne Heights, has you concerned. The album just isn't nearly as cohesive as you wish. It really lacks lasting value. This is a driving-down-the-highway-to-the-beach album, a real summer album. But other than that, you won't really ever feel like revisiting at other times--sadly.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2011-10-18 CharlesMartel Said:

I am definitely too old for this. I saw Paramore live at the O2 and realised that as soon as the band came on. The singer Hayley Williams was bouncing up and down like a marionette on speed and the rest of the band (drummer excepted) strutted around the stage like rock gods despite their collective age being 23 or something. Wireless technology has a lot to answer for as it prevents these exciteable kiddies from being firmly rooted to one place. In truth, the majority of the audience loved it, but then I was old enough to be the grandfather of most of them.

Paramore are cut from the same mould as a long line of bands who have decided to take what they might call edgy, pop punk to the frustrated angsty 'yoof' of today and let them know, you are not alone in being a miserable, moody acne-ridden misfit whose parents don't understand you and who no self-respecting female is going to kiss, let alone s**g! Actually, you are NOT alone. It's called being a teenager and its not a disease. We all went through it and most of us came out the other end relatively unscathed - and got laid eventually as well!!

You can't fault the band for their energy, though. You can't fault their audience for lapping it up. What you can fault is the production. Music like this - emo for want of a better term - should sound edgy and raw. Yet when you sign to a big label, the label wants those rough edges smoothed out and so they sign a big name producer to make sure that it sounds polished, and in so doing "Riot" has lost a lot of what ought to make it appealing.

"Misery Business" could have been Avril Lavigne at a time when she actually had something to offer, but the rest of the album is a bit of a let down. It is a stepping stone on which teenagers pass through on their way to thinking Kid Rock is the greatest if they are not stopped and diverted into something more meaningful along the way. I don't want to sound like a parent but I really wouldn't like my kids to listen to this. Not because I am an old fart (which may be true enough) but because there is so much better than this done better by better musicians and can be classed as edgy, angsty teenage thrills. It's not bad. It's just not good.
Rating: 4/10

Review:

on 2007-09-20 DeathEyesForKiley Said:

A VERY VERY GOOD ALBUM. The growth in Haley's voice and lyrics is what made it a 9/10 for me. I am a huge fan of seeing artist grow, change and mature. Haley did that on this album. While the original review was right, some of the lyrics are a bit shallow. I strongly disagree when he said "(I'm sorry, Hayley Williams, but even you can't make lyrics like "that's what you get when you let your heart win" sound good)". She gave a damn good delivery on this poorly written song. It is a joke to say it does not sound good. The quality of her voice makes up for the weak lyrics. It does not make it a good song but yet still quality and easy to listen to. Also I believe it does meet the standard set but the first album which is a little more difficult than let on in the original review. As an album it does have about three or four songs that you could do without. Moreover the remaining songs do more than make up for weak ones as does Hayley's voice. And to be frank in my opinion the so called "weaker songs" are damn good fillers. While fillers are not always good i think the cohesive problem in the original review is a matter of opinion in a review that seems overly critical, bias, and mis-leading. I feel in this case that the few songs that are not up to the damn good standard set by the other songs do well to blend the album. This is a great album and deserves to be held in higher esteem, especially considering how young Hayley is and how much she has matured from the first album. I'm not saying the first review was wrong but it was much to opinionated to be a fair review. So, in turn a gave it a review equally as opinionated and let the readers have a choice. A great effort made for a great album. No "sophmore slump here."
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2007-07-03 blackxdan Said:

I think this album is great. You can listen to it the whole way through, and not realize when it is over. I think thats a very difficult thing to find in albums now. And I agree, the track that stands out the most is definitely Hallelujah. It's by far my favorite track on the entire CD, and I'm glad it will be their second single. Paramore is an amazing band, and i was in no way let down with this CD. The stories behind the tracks and their inspiration are enough to go buy this CD. Forget everything you know about paramore, and go buy this CD.
Rating: 9/10