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Paramore’s New Single ‘Now’ Updates Signature Sound With Notes of No Doubt and Muse

paramore, hayley williams

Paramore unveiled “Now,” the first single from their self-titled, long in the works fourth album late Monday night (January 21). Streaming via Paramore’s website, “Now” finds lead singer Hayley Williams hewing closely to Gwen Stefani’s speak-sing style in the verses, Muse’s bombast in the crescendos, and the band as a whole recapturing the tympanic intensity that fans know (and love) them for. “If there’s a future, we want it now,” Williams chants in the chorus, a forward-leaning sentiment that echoes the band’s fresh start as a newly downsized three-piece.

“It just feels like the perfect way to start this new journey we are embarking on not only as a band but as a movement,” the band wrote of the song back in December. “To show people that you can lose battles but come back and win full on wars. You can rise from ashes. You can make something out of even less than nothing. The only thing you have to do is keep moving forward!”

Paramore will be the group’s follow-up to 2009’s Brand New Eyes, and their first record since the 2010 departure of founding members (and brothers) Josh and Zac Farro. As SPIN noted last year, Williams described the recording sessions for album No. 4 as “less toiled and troubled” than previous studio outings. Recently, the frontwoman said that losing two bandmates allowed the remaining members to open up more to new creative possibilities. “Musically, I think the biggest growth has come from Taylor [York, guitarist] now being a primary songwriter for the band,” Williams said. “You’ll hear his mad-scientist personality come out a lot on this album.”

She also went on to list some of the album’s inspirations. “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t collectively listen to more electronic music during this process than ever before,” Williams admitted. “Taylor was listening to Alt-J a lot, I was listening to that Sirius XM channel called ‘1st Wave’ every day just getting my gothy vibes on in the car, and Jeremy keeps us well versed in new hip-hop.” But don’t worry: “No dubstep was jammed in the making of this album,” she assured. Producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen said last year, “They don’t need to be a pop-punk band anymore. They can do their own ideas.” Meldal-Johnsen elaborated on his own hopes for the self-titled effort, adding, “I want the album to sound very visceral and a little bit less locked down and computerized — more 1981 than 2012, with a nod to 2016.”

The self-described “brand new band” confirmed the track list for the upcoming LP on their website.

Paramore wrapped shooting on the music video for “Now” with director Daniel Cloud Campos, according to a January 16 tweet from Williams that read, “Done. What an exciting day. Thank you to @DanCloudCampos for writing/ directing such an important video for us. This was my favorite!” Soon after, the band tweeted a photo of the crimson-topped singer glaring into a camera on the video’s set.

Paramore track list:

1. “Fast In My Car”
2. “Now”
3. “Grow Up”
4. “Daydreaming”
5. “Interlude: Moving On”
6. “Ain’t It Fun”
7. “Part II”
8. “Last Hope”
9. “Still Into You”
10. “Anklebiters”
11. “Interlude: Holiday”
12. “Proof”
13. “Hate To See Your Heart Break”
14. “(One Of Those) Crazy Girls”
15. “Interlude: I’m Not Angry Anymore”
16. “Be Alone”
17. “Future”