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I don’t think I’ve heard of more than two Paramore songs, and though I’ve known about their cult following for a while, the two that I heard did not intrigue me enough to check out their stuff.

However, one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to keep up with more of the new movies and music released, so I checked out a couple new albums that have released recently, and one of these albums was American pop-punk/rock band Paramore’s sixth studio album This is Why, which contains a modest 10 tracks spanning approximately 36 minutes.

After listening to the album, I am happy to say that it was 36 minutes well spent, and This is Why might just be one of the strongest pop-punk albums to be released in recent years. With a strong post-punk, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light influence, the album offers a nice variety in terms of style with a combination of springy beats, well-crafted lyrics, catchy hooks, and Hayley William’s distinctive vocals delivering the lyrics with just the right mix of pop-rock explosiveness and emotional authenticity. Though the sociopolitical messages may not hit as hard (if at all), the raw vulnerability of personal turmoil on tracks like “Thick Skull” and “Running Out of Time” definitely do.

Best Track(s): “Thick Skull”, “Crave”, “You First”

Rating: 7.0/10