Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *

Times and band line ups may change but as long as the central component of Paramore remains then the group will continue to be an interesting listen, a smashing diversion from corporate pop and banality. That central piece that makes this, the band’s fourth album and the first one to be self-titled, is the endeavour and honesty in which the band performs and perhaps for the first time the ethos is stamped all the way through the recording.

It was in evidence in a smattering of places in the debut offering, unfortunately missing during Riot and with a huge leap made it a reappearance for the wonderful comeback of the 2009 album Brand New Eyes and now four albums down the line, it might be a case of less is more for Hayley Williams, Jeremy Davis and Taylor York as for the first time all the intensity that has sifted through various break-ups, squabbles and fall outs have made them a group of real quality.

There seems a frankness to the song-writing, an acceptance that when the back is up against the wall and there is nowhere to hide, all you can do is come out fighting and perform even harder. For the fans of the band this will be a tribute to their faith in the group and quite rightly so, some of the songs they have produced in the past have been exceptional and throughout Paramore, that uniqueness that Hayley Williams has in her voice is now more than a flickering of emotion, she has carried on the work laid down in Brand New Eyes and made tracks such as Ain’t It Fun, the brilliant Daydreaming, Hate To See Your Heart Break and the sentimental and intriguingly bitter Grow Up essential listening.

Four years is too long to be away from the public eye but for Paramore, the distractions have been too big to give 100 per cent and if they continue in this superb vein for the rest of the career then they will take their place in the ever growing pantheon of American rock.

Ian D. Hall