Sunday Video Love: Hard Times

I've been waiting with bated breath for Paramore to finally release something new. I didn't know if they'd actually stay together with so much turmoil going on within their group. It just seems like they can't catch a break with all the band member changes and lawsuits and losses over the past few years. But as someone who has been a Paramore fan for well over a decade now, it's a relief to know they can endure so many public and personal battles and still come out the victor, even if it doesn't feel like it to them. This song, the first single from their fifth studio album (which comes out next month), really represents a radical new chapter in their lives and in their music, both sonically and lyrically. A lot of long-time fans will find it hard to get used to the different sound, but I actually appreciate the change. They've always skated the line between pop and rock ("too rock for pop, and too pop for rock," as they've always said), but their sound now incorporates '80s nu wave, '70s disco, with dashes of ska, funk, and calypso — resulting in a sound that immediately makes you want to dance (or, at the very least, head bop), replay the song so you can dance some more, and then replay again because you kinda don't mind the fact that it'll be stuck in your head for a week, anyway. They don't sound anything like they used to — in the best way possible — proving that Paramore can adapt to any genre they want and completely slay it.