ALBUM OF THE WEEK: HAYLEY WILLIAMS – ‘PETALS FOR ARMOR’

Hayely Williams steps out of Paramore to release her first solo album, ‘Petals For Armor’. We expected this record to come much sooner, perhaps on the back of her chart-topping collaboration with B.o.B. ‘Airplanes’ back in 2010.

At that point, Hayley seemed like an obvious contender to ‘do a Gwen Stefani‘. Instead, she regrouped with her band who went on to experiment with different genres resulting in their recent 2 albums, ‘Paramore’ and ‘After Laughter’, actually being their strongest work yet.

Hayley could quite easily have recruited all the big pop producers and made a record for streaming playlists and commercial radio. Instead, she’s made a lengthy and interesting alt-pop record. It’s ambitious and experimental, taking in a number of different sounds and continuing the lyrical instrospection displayed on recent Paramore records.

It’s a triumph which she should be celebrating with a special set at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton this week. Hopefully, the time will come when we get to experience this great record live. For now, check out ‘Cinnamon’ below.

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