An image has been circulating recently on Tumblr of the waveform for “Now,” the first single from Paramore’s just-released, positively reviewed self-titled album. It looks like one barely differentiated block, constantly pushed to maximum volume, a bellicose song fallen victim to the “loudness war.” Live performance need not be compressed for radio, however, and the Tennessee band hints at its emotional range in a pair of newly posted performances for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Latest single “Still Into You” becomes slightly saucier, the glockenspiel-disco breakdown standing out a bit more. “Now” (below) starts out a bit enervated, drained perhaps by a TV-studio crowd holding cameras aloft rather than interacting, but before the end frontwoman Hayley Williams is pleading on her knees. Then she rises again, yelling like hell to the heavens. Only faux pas: She wasn’t wearing her Iceage T-shirt.
Check out SPIN’s interview with Williams.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uz7MktCObLU%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_detailpage
