OC Music Magazine

Kellie Stekol

With the success of their previous album, Riot!, Paramore will have no trouble making their way into your heart and CD player with  Brand New Eyes. Since Riot! release in 2007, Hayle Williams and the band has quite obviously been hard at work, fine tuning their sound as a band overall. This is apparent in their new songs that flow smoothly and can be listened to under any circumstance. For those fans who were nervously awaiting Brand New Eyes for fear of the very Paramore-esque poppy hooks, fear not, devoted fans, they still remain. Only this time, those hooks are driven by a harder and more concentrated rock sound than was heard on their previous album. Lyrically, Brand New Eyes shows Williams off in a different light. The angry, revenge filled, feelings of a heart broken girl are of the past, while a more cautious one steps in. "You can't be too careful anymore, when all that is waiting for you won't  come any closer,” croons a skeptic of love, Williams. This album shows Paramore, as a band, coming into their own sound. While their last album may have been too all over the place for some, Brand New Eyes will demand your attention with it’s heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies…without reaching out and slapping you in the face.