Paramore - Paramore (2013) [HDtracks]

For this release, Paramore worked with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, whose previous production credits include artists like Neon Trees and M83. Perhaps not the most obvious choice for a band that developed alongside labelmates like Fall Out Boy, but the first-time pairing explodes with chemistry, coalescing the group's grand emotionality and ridiculously tight hooks with ever new and genius musical avenues, like electronica and even orchestral flourishes. The idea that your songs should only include instrumentation that you can pack into your tour van is a practical limitation that for plenty of bands, especially those of the punk ethos, can become a downright philosophical limitation. But when original guitarist and drummer Zac and Josh Farro left the band in 2010, Paramore were forced to allow vital roles in their sound to be filled with hired professionals rather than actual bandmembers - after all, they needed somebody to play drums. This clearly opened the band up to exploring all other manner of possibilities in the studio that they could not reasonably fit into a van or reproduce in a garage, like a board full of subtly perfect synth intonations or, in the case of one song (the immediate classic "Ain't It Fun"), a gospel choir. The change represents more than just growth; it's transcendence. Paramore have made the album of their career.