The band Paramore has certainly stood the test of time. They have been nominated for more than 44 different awards, garnered one of the largest followings of any punk-rock band ever, and have over twenty million fans on Facebook. If that doesn’t spell success, then I don’t know what does. Like other musicians, Paramore has changed in terms of their musical style from some of their first releases such as “All We Know,” which had a very apparent punk rock and alternative sound, to their latest releases like “Still Into You,” which sounds similar to a Pink song that was never released.

Hayley Williams was only 13 years old when she moved to Franklin, Tennessee, in 2002 and met Zac and Josh Farro. By then, she had already known bassist Jeremy Davis, and Jason Bynum wouldn’t join the band as their rhythm guitarist until 2004. Williams had already been signed to Atlantic Records in 2003 when she was only 14.

The first song off of Paramore is “Fast in My Car,” which sets an odd mood for the first song of the album. It has a few of Paramore’s early elements, such as the punk-rock style drumming and Williams’ signature spoken/sung style of vocalization. Even with these two important characteristics, they do not blend well with the pop sounding guitar and boring synthesizers that play in the background of the song. Overall, it is not the song that should define the album.

Track nine titled, “Still Into You,” perfectly conveys the state at which Paramore is currently. They sound like every other pop-punk band now and sound quite generic.  It just leaves you bored, hoping for the song to end so you can try and get the annoying tune out of your head.  I feel as though this is the song that defines this album, and the artist who created it. This album, and the band is a complete sold-out, watered down, boring mess.

“Anklebiters” is without a doubt one of the more underrated songs on the album. It more than fulfills the desire of Paramore’s older punk sound. It leaves a your head bobbing to the catchy drum and guitar patterns and makes you feel like you did when you enjoyed their older work.

“Hate To See Your Heart Break” is proof that despite the generic overall sound of the album, Paramore is just as ambitious as ever; they still retain the same versatility they had on previous albums. It’s a much slower song, and is a nice change of pace with the calming drums, Williams’ soft singing, and various wooden stringed instruments. The only nitpick that is apparent is the mediocre guitar work.

All in all, Paramore is a hit or miss with Paramore fans. It does have a few solid tracks on it, but most of them sound identical to each other. It leaves the listener unimpressed and bored, and it’d be best to buy this album when it’s on the discount rack.