(sings title to the tune of Fiona Apple’s “Ladies”)
[Video]
[5.50]
Juana Giaimo: Hayley Williams’ voice has always been a standout of Paramore, but in her solo project she dared to take it to new places. Instead of showing off the power of her voice, she creates these beautiful twisted melodies. “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” is eerie and intimate until Williams reaches the powerful bridge and her voice breaks through. The soft beat and delicate guitar are the perfect background.
[8]
Tobi Tella: Williams deftly avoids a cloying or cliche message, and the lyrics where she looks internally are some of the best of her career. But the production returns to the muted guitar and laidback groove of almost every other song released for the album thus far. The strings are a new element, but I’m unsure the song reeeeeally earned its 5-minute runtime.
[6]
Alfred Soto: I mean, it’s cool the lead singer of Paramore is using her inside voice to murmur sweet, vaguely menacing nothings over violins — I liked Tricky too back in the day. Solo projects are indulgences. We know this. The knowledge does not make me free.
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: I did not expect, but nevertheless adore, this “Stolen Car” Beth Orton phase of Hayley Williams’ career, this flowery Opheliacore that’s just delicate and measured enough to work. (A lot of the measuredness likely comes from Boygenius, who bloom better in this lusher arrangement.) It’s astounding that her post-Warped Tour trajectory went from stodgy “The Only Exception” and chintzy After Laughter to this.
[8]
Oliver Maier: Williams is so busy trying not to write Paramore songs that she’s forgetting to make them sound like anything else instead; “Roses” wilts under feeble melodies, trite lyrics and a redundant feature. I get not wanting to be pigeonholed, but there are better directions to pivot toward than total drabness.
[2]
Katie Gill: This song is absolutely lovely. It’s beautiful and lilting, with surprisingly fun percussion and a dreamlike quality. But the lyrics feel a little bit disingenuous, like a bunch of platitudes and artsy sentiments for artsy sentiments’ sake slapped together so if we’re lucky, maybe one of them can be put on a tour T-shirt, a phone background, or a flower-print Pinterest board graphic.There’s an entire subgenre of music that’s made by indie/alternative artists that exists mostly to live on fanfics and fanmix titles — stay on Tumblr long enough, and you’ll see “I can break through the earth, come up soft and wild” slapped on a gifset of Yennefer from The Witcher. Hayley Williams has lived in this subgenre for at least ten years now, and it’s a little frustrating to see her still here.
[5]