After Laughter Tracklist
After Laughter, the follow up to Paramore’s critically-acclaimed self-titled record (2013), marks a huge change for the band both sonically and lyrically. Released May 12, 2017, this album contains several dark lyrics (fueled by Hayley Williams' depression) over fun and poppy melodies.
Hayley Williams told Entertainment Weekly her idea behind the title of the album,
It means that look on a person’s face when they laugh really hard and then there’s this moment where they come back to reality — I like watching for it. Maybe I’m a little bit of a creep.
After Laughter is best described as Paramore growing from a rebellious teenager to an adult. In the album, Hayley reveals that underneath her bright exterior she hides her problems and pain.
Hayley even told The New York Times:
You can run on the fumes of being a teenager for as long as you want, but eventually life hits you real hard.
After the band’s Writing The Future tour in 2015, which closed off the self-titled era, it was announced that bassist Jeremy Davis had decided to leave the band for the second time. Later, in 2017 it was announced that Zac Farro would be rejoining the band after his controversial departure with brother Josh in 2010.
After Laughter was preceded by lead single “Hard Times” on April 19th which coincided with the album’s announcement, pre-order and song’s music video.
The album was produced by previous collaborator Justin Meldal-Johnson alongside lead guitarist Taylor York. Carlos de la Garza, who worked as an audio engineer on After Laughter and Paramore said:
There was a little bit of a dark side creeping in to Hayley’s psyche…Something was eating at her, and she was able to use a lot of that as fuel for lyrics.
“After Laughter” Q&A
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Translations:
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How did the writing/recording of the album begin?
Hayley had privately quit the band in 2015 but after she left, Taylor York and Justin Meldal-Johnson, the co-producer of After Laughter started sending her unfinished tracks just to see what would happen.
Taylor said:
We both had doubts, and we had unity in that, I told her she didn’t have to do stuff. But I just kept writing, and then there was this time that she got it again.
They continued to create in this way, with Taylor sending her basic ideas and Hayley letting loose on top of them. And the songs kept coming.
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How hard was it to change the band's iconic musical style?
After a fan submitted the question to an Instagram post, the band replied:
For AL we actually were more inspired by bands who would’ve been associated with punk rock movements in the late 70’s and early 80’s. So to us, there wasn’t a big shift in ideas but more a shift in sonics. Playing with tones and new instrumentation that better serves the songs we write right now. When we write from a place of passion and not from a place of obligation to a specific genre or style, it’s much more of an adventure and it’s truer to who we are.
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What have the artists said about the album?
Hayley Williams posted on her Instagram:
