by Hope Guzzle
Earwax Editor
As a self proclaimed former emo I was very excited when I first heard that Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore, was going to be releasing solo work. I had grown up listening to her older work and enjoyed “After Laughter” in 2017. However after I heard the first thirty seconds I knew that I was going to be immensely upset by this single. “Simmer” sounds like song that one would hear playing over the speakers in a rural Target.
When Paramore released “After Laughter” I was really excited for the direction that the band was going in, a band that makes spunky, 80s inspired car pop. But this song just bores the shit out of me.The beats are very repetitive and seem like a big departure from all of her other work. While I understand that she is separating herself from Paramore, I don’t understand why this is the direction she would want to start in.
Another issue is that Hayley Williams has a bold and soulful voice, and it is completely lost on this track. Williams is borderline talk-singing throughout the entire song, which is acceptable when you are Pierce Brosnan in “Mamma Mia!,” but seems like a strange choice when the singer is known for her large range.
One section of the song that I specifically disliked was the chorus when she just repeats the word “simmer” over and over again. I understand that Paramore was never known for their deep and empowering lyrics, but this is just going a step too far for my taste.
I don’t think I would have had any opinion on this song had it not been written by Williams, but because I admire her so much as an artist, it’s very hard not to be irritated. I don’t necessarily hate this song, I am just immensely disappointed by it.
