Brand New Eyes

Background, writing and production

After the release of Riot! and a nonstop year, a blog post that stated they were having "internal issues" in early 2008, coupled with a week of cancelled shows, speculation arose that the band was going to break up. Not long after, it was resolved and claimed to be an issue of the members never having time to talk about things such as how they "were all growing up, and sometimes, when you're growing up, you're not always growing together". Further struggles to write new material had singer Hayley Williams speaking of the doubts she had surrounding the writing of the record and meeting the expectations placed on the band after the success of Riot!. She was also concerned about lyrics that involved current issues, as opposed to resolved issues that she had written about in the past. "I was like, 'This isn't a feel-good song, because I'm writing about something I'm going through right now, and it's still painful,'" she continued. "And I confused that with actually not liking the songs, when actually I was prouder of them than I've ever been before. They're heavier emotions for me... I'm still going through some of this stuff, and these songs are really healing to me." The band as a whole treated the writing as a therapeutic experience, which helped them hash out old differences. Now that "all those words were out on the table", they were able to have their first real conversations in a long time, resolving the internal struggles they had been facing, by going back to the reasons why they started the band and had wanted to play music in the first place. Consequently, Paramore decided to name the record Brand New Eyes because of the allusion to seeing things from a whole new perspective, "Just trying to let go of whatever we might have struggled with the past and just see each other in a new way," explained Williams. The band soon felt that they were onto the right track, and, retrospectively looking back on Riot!, Paramore guitarist, Josh Farro, said "Riot! was a kiddie album, but we had to do that to get to this point."

Paramore spent six weeks in pre-production at Emac Studios in their hometown of Franklin, the first time they had undergone pre-production without the guidance of a producer. A visit from record producer Rob Cavallo reassured the band that they were on the right track. "The album totally rocks," Cavallo said, "yet it's also very subtle." The band subsequently felt that the album and that their new material had the potential to surpass the success of their previous work. Although it was originally planned to record the album close to home in Nashville, the band commenced recording in Calabasas, California with Cavallo at the end of March 2009. They then added to the original material written at home with additional tunes written with the help of Cavallo after the move to Calabasas. Similar to most rock records, the band mostly tracked the drums first, followed by the rest of the members recording scratch tracks that they later overdubbed. Paramore finished production by May 2009, in time for a tour in support of No Doubt.

Promotion and release

The first single from the album was "Ignorance", which was made available via digital download on July 7, on the same date the album became available for pre-order on Paramore's official website. "Brick by Boring Brick" was confirmed to be the second single from the album, released in November 2009. The album's cover, an image of a butterfly divided from its wings, inspired the line "The angles were all wrong / Now she's ripping wings off of butterflies". The fifth single from the album, "Playing God", was released on the November 16, 2010. To assist with promotion of the single, a music video for "Playing God", was also released.

Two versions of the album were made available: a standard CD edition as well as a deluxe, limited edition package that has sold out worldwide. The deluxe version included the album on CD with the acoustic versions of Where The Lines Overlap and Ignorance, a 40-page hardcover journal written by Hayley Williams, an exclusive poster that comes with only the box set, a booklet with the lyrics from all the songs from Brand New Eyes, a color vinyl 7" single with the acoustic versions of Ignorance and Where The Lines Overlap, one picture of each band member, a certificate of authenticity, and a DVD featuring a 30 minute long exclusive 'making-of' documentary. The CD was also one of the first to use iTunes LP. It debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, behind Love Is The Answer by Barbra Streisand.

The album was released in high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) on HDtracks.com in 2012. The high res version has a greater dynamic range than the CD release.

Critical reception

Brand New Eyes received acclaim from music critics. According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 12 reviews through October 1, 2009. AbsolutePunk.net writer Julia Conny scored the album at 82% and praised frontwoman Hayley Williams, "Simultaneously down-to-earth and on top of the world, there is something about this Williams character that makes an album like Brand New Eyes more than another notch on that bitchy pop-rock bedpost. Just imagine what will happen when the band hits their mid-twenties." Andrew Leahey of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating, Brand New Eyes presents Paramore as a stronger, leaner, and altogether more consistent band."

Evan Lucy of Billboard also wrote a favorable review, saying, "Although the new set may lack the wide-eyed naiveté that made the group's past efforts so endearing, the newfound maturity makes for a compelling set of songs." Big Cheese magazine awarded a maximum 5 star rating and Cathy Reay wrote, "Brand New Eyes is a huge milestone for an intelligent, honest young band that deserve far more mainstream recognition than they get."

Alternative Press awarded the album 4.5/5 and Scott Heisel praised the improvement of the album over its predecessor; "Riot! was ridiculously top-loaded, with an unmemorable second half. Eyes astonishes from start to finish, with the bouncy and confessional "Looking Up" and the immensely powerful track "All I Wanted" showing up as diamonds in an already gem-covered rough". Sarah Bee, journalist for the BBC gave a largely favorable review and summarized, "If you didn't like Paramore before, their third album is unlikely to sway you. They make the kind of forceful, commercial emo-pop that music lovers love to hate. However, as forceful, commercial emo-pop goes – and it does – Brand New Eyes is very good. It is brash and gauche, but charming."

Rock Sound however, went on to laud the slower efforts. "The album's big surprise comes in the form of the stripped-down closing tracks 'Misguided Ghosts' and 'All I Wanted', which see the fragility of Hayley's vocals laid against sparse instrumentation with truly immaculate results." Reviewer Faye Lewis went on to summarize, "Paramore are a young band growing up in the public glare, and although that would send many to the funny farm, it's made this quintet even stronger and Brand New Eyes is by far their best record yet". Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone scored the album at 3 stars out of 5. Much like Leonie Cooper of NME, he was critical of slower moments: "But some of the sweeping moments blunt the band's fresh-faced immediacy — as if the cute kids from the sticks have had a hard time turning pro." Spin magazine awarded 4 stars out of 5 in their review and complimented the band for standing out in a generic genre. "Paramore's follow-up, Brand New Eyes, which, at a moment of wet-and-wild Warped Tour cynicism (see Cobra Starship and 3OH!3), offers a principled reminder of a more earnest, honest age."

Drowned In Sound awarded the album 8/10 and while writer Paul Stephen Gettings stated the record isn't "pushing any boundaries", he praised its longevity: "[...] if you're already a critic, this isn't going to convince you otherwise. This is a realization, and an affirmation, of Paramore's musical craftmanship and potential longevity. They have allowed themselves to grow and still retain the innocence and optimism that makes them so irresistible." Kerrang! reviewer Dan Slessor gave the album 4 Ks (4/5) and claimed, "...in Brand New Eyes they have arguably delivered the most accomplished and affecting record of their career." NME were also favorable in their review. Although being critical of the album's slower moments, Leonie Cooper praised the record as a whole; "Sure, the two slower tracks might make for a break in the relentless pace, but who needs the rest? If you just so happen to be one of the best in the up-tempo pop-smattered emo-punk game, why bother slowing down? For this lot, more is most certainly more."

Commercial performance

Commercially, Brand New Eyes was a major success. In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 184,547 copies. The following week the album fell to number 9 and managed to sell an additional 43,560 copies. The album stayed on the main album chart for 32 weeks. In addition to the Billboard 200, the album managed to peak at number one on the Billboard Rock and Alternative Albums charts. On January 19, 2010, less than six months after the album was released, Brand New Eyes was certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 albums and platinum on March 22, 2016 for shipments of 1,000,000 albums.

Tour

Paramore announced their North American tour for Brand New Eyes on their official site, with The Swellers and Paper Route joining them as opening acts. The first show of the tour was played at a packed Fox Theatre in Pomona, California, on September 29, 2009 (the day of the album's release). During "Decode", Williams lost her voice. Lead guitarist Josh Farro spoke to the crowd and although their set was cut short, the band played "Misery Business" instrumentally while the crowd sang Williams's vocal parts. The tour, which previously went from September 29 to November 1, 2009, was later officially postponed on October 2, 2009, due to a case of laryngitis for singer Williams. The full tour resumed on October 10, 2009, in Chicago.

The band also announced that they would be doing a European tour starting off in Helsinki, Finland, on November 29, 2009, with You Me at Six, Paper Route, and Now, Now Every Children supporting all UK tour dates.

They performed in February 2010 in the Australian Soundwave Festival, along with bands such as You Me at Six, Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low and Alexisonfire. They performed at the Soundwave Festival before they did the Brand New Eyes Tour in Australia. Then in the first week of March they performed two concerts in New Zealand, one to a sell out crowd of 5,000 in Auckland and the other in Christchurch. They also performed in Singapore and the Philippines, respectively, as the last two legs of their Pacific Rim Tour.

Paramore have supported Green Day on their tour. They opened the concerts of Green Day in Dublin, Ireland on June 23, 2010 and in Paris, France on June 26, 2010.

In July, August and September 2010, the band announced a tour in the Honda Civic Tour 2010.

In May 2010, the band had a short UK tour for November 2010. After just one day of being on sale they added a second date at the O2 arena due to huge demand for tickets. Since they have added 2 extra dates to take it up to 8 concerts instead of the original 5.

In June 2010, the band announced a short Australia Tour for October.

In November 2010, the band announced a short in South American Tour for February and March 2011, and the band announced a short in American tour for December.

In July 2011, the band had a short Europe tour.

Track listing

All tracks written by Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, except where noted.

Limited edition bonus DVD

1. "Making the Album" documentary – 30:00
2. In-studio footage
3. Interviews
4. Paramore.net episodes:
5. (Cocky) Basketball
6. Ping Pong
7. Cribz, Part 1
8. Cribz, Part 2
9. Zac and Kevin
10. Z and T Presents "Baby Come Back 2 Me"
11. Photo gallery (exclusive in-studio)