Paramore have shared their comeback single, ‘This Is Why’.
The track – another sonic shift for a band who follow their own musical compass – also serves as the title track and lead single for their sixth album, set to drop on 10th February 2023.
“‘This Is Why’ was the very last song we wrote for the album,” Hayley Williams explains. “To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor convinced Zac and I both that we should work on this last idea. What came out of it was the title track for the whole album.
“It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last 3 or 4 years. You’d think after a global pandemic of fucking biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something. The public sphere we find ourselves re-entering after 4 years at home, in our comfort zones, is an entirely different thing than the one we knew. The restlessness, the anxiety, and the compulsion to take action— it all feels like a contradiction. on one hand, we have a legitimate platform to use which makes me want to march at every protest for social justice and devote every waking second to every single cause I believe in. On the other, I just want to go home, plant a garden, and become a distant memory to the outside world.”
A video for the song has also been released. Directed by Turnstile’s Brendan Yates and filmed in Malibu, California last month, Williams says, “It was so rad working with Brendan. I’ve known the Turnstile guys for a little while and was so psyched to have our worlds collide in this way. There’s a cool kinship between the way our bands do things… Hopefully we will get to play shows with them at some point.”
We’re not done yet, though. The band have already updated the cryptic calender of ‘events’ on their website’s homepage to include two new entries.
In an open letter to fans published on the band’s official Discord yesterday (27th September), Williams explained the record sees Paramore “about to experience our happiest and most fulfilling moments”.
In the letter, she explained how the band had been able to “spend consecutive days, months, years, etc., at home”, allowing them to see how “luxurious all of these things are for anyone, anywhere.”
Explaining that returning to the real world is “terrifying”, she also explained that it’s “the perfect time to take advantage of every opportunity we are given to leverage our platform and all of that for good causes.”
“Tomorrow, we start again! – And yet, really, we’re just picking up where we left off,” Williams added. “For so many reasons I don’t even have words for, I think we are about to experience our happiest and most fulfilling moments as Paramore. And when I say, “WE”, I do hope by now you know what I mean.”
You can read the full letter below.
