Hayley Williams Releases Music Video for “When Hayley Williams released her new album, ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’, the final collection included one never-before-heard song, “Parachute”, which was named Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1’s New Music Show. Out now, she shares the music video directed, filmed and edited by Zachary Gray.
After dropping a surprise collection of 17 unsequenced singles this August, fans took to social media, imagining their own tracklistings and even creating hayleysingles.com, where thousands of fans were able to work up and share their preferred order. After a few weeks, Williams took those playlists and formatted the songs (plus “Parachute”) into an official album, released on August 28th. ‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ is available for physical pre-order now, out on November 7th. Pre-order here.
‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ was produced entirely by Daniel James. Williams wrote, played and recorded a variety of instruments across each of the 18 songs, with cross-project contributions from long-time collaborators Brian Robert Jones and Joey Howard, and contributions from Jim-E Stack on “True Believer”, which just earned Williams her first solo Billboard Alternative Sales #1. After 20+ years spent fulfilling their contract for Atlantic Records – a contract Williams signed as a mere teenager – Paramore announced in December of 2023 that they were finally an independent band. This surprise collection is self-released by Hayley Williams on her new venture Post Atlantic, distributed via Secretly Distribution.
In the previous weeks, Williams has also released music videos for the album’s title track, directed by Zachary Gray, and the single “Glum”, directed by her Paramore bandmate Zac Farro and AJ Gibboney. Watch both here: “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” and “Glum”.
“This brilliant, swaggering new chapter…is driven by curiosity and the need for community. ***** ”
– NME
“Never has she sounded more certain with a sonic landscape that is all her own.”
– Rolling Stone
“She’s buffeted from left and right by dissonant guitars, defies them with a barreling punk-pop chorus and reveals serious misgivings.”
– New York Times
This album puts Hayley Williams’ full range on display. “Mirtazapine” is a late-’90s alt-rock love letter to antidepressants, while on “Glum”, she subverts her own voice—using vocal presets to striking effect as the track meditates on loneliness. Other standouts include “Whim”, an easy Americana earworm with a songwriting backbone that nods to her Nashville roots, and “Ice in My OJ”, a thoroughly modern track that pairs sharp production with some of Williams’ most biting and humorous lyrics to date.
Long-time Paramore fans may quickly recognize the “Ice In My OJ” chorus, as it was first sung by Williams in 2004 on “Jumping Inside” by the Mammoth City Messengers. But perhaps all of her talents converge most impactfully on the album’s only previously unreleased track, “Parachute”. It’s a reminder of Williams ability to strike right at the heart, with not only her confessional lyrics, but her unmatched delivery. The album captures all the dynamism Williams has shown throughout her career and collaborations. At its core, these songs are the work of a supremely gifted artist with a voracious, genre-defying appetite for music and creative exploration.
These songs come as the third batch of work released from Williams as a solo artist. The COVID-era saw her release two extraordinary albums – 2020’s ‘Petals For Armor’ and 2021’s ‘Flowers for Vases’. Both albums were gorgeous and stark meditations on loss and offered up a contrast to the high-energy and up-tempo muscle she displays in Paramore.
‘Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party’ Tracklisting
1. Ice In My OJ
2. Glum
3. Kill Me
4. Whim
5. Mirtazapine
6. Disappearing Man
7. Love Me Different
8. Brotherly Hate
9. Negative Self Talk
10. Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
11. Hard
12. Discovery Channel
13. True Believer
14. Zissou
15. Dream Girl In Shibuya
16. Blood Bros
17. I Won’t Quit On You
18. Parachute
Watch the music video “Parachute” here
