Hayley Williams Shares NewEarlier this month, Hayley Williams surprised fans by dropping a collection of 17 singles, produced entirely by Daniel James. Today, she has unveiled a music video for the single “Glum”, directed by Paramore bandmate Zac Farro and AJ Gibboney. 
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 of songs is self-released by Hayley Williams on her new venture Post Atlantic, distributed via Secretly Distribution. Williams and Daniel James wrote, played and recorded a variety of instruments across each of the newly released tracks, with cross-project contributions from long-time collaborators Brian Robert Jones and Joey Howard, and contributions from Jim-E Stack on “True Believer”, which currently sits at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Digital Sales Chart.
She also has released a music video for “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party”, directed by Zachary Gray. The clip features a portrait of Williams’ hometown of Nashville. You can see her contemplating the city at dusk with Representative Justin Jones, sifting through the crowds on Broadway and singing in a karaoke bar.
These 17 singles put 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. The collection 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.
“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
“Sonically, each track is truly idiosyncratic — though Williams’ heartfelt, personal style, a tug-of-war
