3xLP COLORED VINYL

Hayley Williams' artful and deeply personal solo debut, 2020's Petals for Armor, reportedly comes on the heels of a period of deep self-reflection for the longtime Paramore vocalist, and it shows. Along with Paramore's breakthrough chart success with their 2013 self-titled album and 2017's After Laughter, Williams and the band endured three frought lineup changes. It was also during these years that Williams married, divorced, and saw her beloved grandmother endure a life-altering injury. She brings all of these experiences to bear on Petals for Armor, digging with poetic intensity into the depression and self-doubt that have often clouded her success. Joining Williams is Paramore guitarist Taylor York who also takes the helm as producer. A fluidly inventive instrumentalist and songwriter, York brings the same level of empathetic creativity to Williams' work here as he does with Paramore. Also on board are Paramore touring bassist Joey Howard (who shares at least half of the co-writing credits), drummer Aaron Steele (Ghost Beach, Fences, Ximena Sarinana), and cellist/violinist Benjamin Kaufman. Together, they've crafted a series of intimate mood pieces that pair Williams' candid lyrics (she also plays guitar and keyboards) with arty post-rock arrangements and evocative adult-contemporary flourishes. There's a palpable sense of exploration on Petals for Armor, as Williams includes nods to the progressive Baroque pop and funky dance music of artists like Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and David Byrne. Cuts like the opening "Simmer" and "Leave It Alone" have a narcotic dream energy, punctuated by menacing bass grooves and icy string accents. They also showcase Williams' continued growth as a singer, her resonant voice pulled down to a hushed lilt one minute and a soaring, mellifluous shimmer the next. While there's a sculpted precision to many of these songs, they are balanced with a frank emotionality. On the dancey, Latin-inflected "Dead Horse," Williams details a toxic relationship, singing "Every morning I wake up/From a dream of you/Holding me underwater/Is that a dream or a memory?/Held my breath for a decade/Dyed my hair blue to match my lips/Cool of me to try/Pretty cool I'm still alive." Also helping to illuminate Williams' softly cathartic sound are singer/songwriter's Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker who sing back-up on the flowing, downtempo orchestral track "Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris." It's a textured, nuanced song, rife with an empowered and explicitly feminine eye for detail. Williams sings, "I think of all the wilted women/Who crane their necks to reach a window/Ripping all their petals off just cause 'He loves me now, he loves me not.' 'While there's certainly an audible sense of collaboration on Petals for Armor, it's Williams' ability to turn her dark, personal moments into anthems of survival that stick with you. As she sings on "Watch Me While I Bloom," "I'm alive in spite of me/And I'm on my move/So come and look inside of me/Watch me while I bloom."

Nine months after the release of her debut solo album, 2020's Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams returns with a surprise follow-up, 2021's deeply introspective Flowers for Vases/descansos. Where Petals for Armor found Williams collaborating with a handful of close associates, including her Paramore bandmate Taylor York, Flowers for Vases/descansos is an even more solo-oriented project with Williams playing all of the instruments herself and recording alone with Canon Blue's Daniel James producing. Largely acoustic with a limited amount of overdubs, Flowers feels somewhat more minimalist than the aesthetically varied Petals -- which isn't to say it's any less impressive. There is a sense that Williams is celebrating her influences, dipping into a little Fleetwood Mac twang here ("Over Those Hills"), some angelic folk harmonies à la Linda Ronstadt there ("Good Grief"). Then there's the slow-churning anthem "Just a Lover," a piano ballad that eventually crashes to a halt in a tidal wave of distorted bass and shimmering electric guitar; it's messier and more sprawling than anything Williams has done with Paramore, conjuring the brooding energy of late-'70s Patti Smith. We also get several delicately haunting and ambient songs like "KYRH" and the instrumental "Descansos" that bring to mind artists like Brian Eno and Philip Glass and speak to her broad taste.

As with much of Petals for Armor, Flowers for Vases/descansos feels like Williams continuing on a journey of self-reflection, toiling with her personal demons, and transforming her pain into intimate hymns. It's a mood that's not just reflected in the lyrics but also the music. Many of the songs feel like they might have been written on her bed or back porch. In fact, one of the most potent tracks, "HYD" ("How're You Doing"), begins unassumingly with what sounds like Williams recording outside into a tape deck until she is interrupted by a loud airplane flying overhead. After a wry exclamation of "Are you f*cking kidding me," Williams starts the song again, this time in the studio as she ruminates on someone absent from her life. She sings, "When the air is quiet and the sky is blue/I can't help being reminded of you/And how your eyes are shut, so you cannot see/Just how very close/I keep you to me." Even in the darkest moments on Flowers for Vases/descansos, Williams reaches out and beckons you ever closer.

 Petals For Armor 
A1 Simmer
A2 Leave It Alone
A3 Cinnamon
A4 Creepin’
A5 Sudden Desire
B1 Dead Horse
B2 My Friend
B3 Over Yet
B4 Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris
B5 Why We Ever
C1 Pure Love
C2 Taken
C3 Sugar On The Rim
C4 Watch Me While I Bloom
C5 Crystal Clear
 Flowers For Vases (Descansos) 
E1 First Thing To Go
E2 My Limb
E3 Asystole
E4 Trigger
E5 Over Those Hills
E6 Good Grief
E7 Wait On
F1 KYRH
F2 Inordanary
F3 HYD
F4 No Use I Just Do
F5 Find Me Here
F6 Descansos
F7 Just A Lover