There are a lot of moments throughout your life where you don’t spend a long time with someone, but it’s significant enough that they stick with you. After a few years, maybe a decade or two, you will see them wandering around the city and think that they have their life together. Suddenly you look at them and smile, realizing that they had the ability to follow their dream and keep their career alive. While we’ve all matured and moved onto other things, they have remained true to their vision, and all I can say to them is a hearty “Good for you!” It’s doubtful that I will think much of how true this is on a more personal and emotional level, but from afar, everything seems shipshape.
That is kind of how I feel discovering that Hayley Williams is releasing her solo album “Petals for Armor.” In some respects, I figured that every pop-punk band from the early 2000s has released some esoteric offshoot by this point. That generation of artists seemed to be fueled by restlessness and a desire to experiment and make their sound as expansive as possible. I think of discovering that Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance released a solo album. Again, I have no choice but to say “Good for you!” I don’t know how quick I am to listen to it, but I’m glad he’s still working.
Williams is an odd one because I was never the biggest fan of Paramore. I was aware of them, notably during the “Riot!” era where “Misery Business” was a song that my sister played at all of her parties. You just knew that when the chorus kicked in that the room would sing along. Then she did a song for Twilight (2008) and it felt like they were entering a new phase of their career. With that said, I can’t tell you what it is. I let Paramore be Paramore while I was off enjoying Lana Del Rey records. It wasn’t until I read Wikipedia to find a topic this week that I found my “Good for you!” moment.
I didn’t even know what Williams sounded like anymore. Did the band have one of those radical music shifts? I knew that most bands seemed to be doing that, making my initial affection for them unrecognizable. While I can’t tell you what Paramore’s recent album “After Laughter” sounds like, I can tell you this: “Petals for Armor” is much different than what I was expecting, and there was plenty that immediately made me tap my foot along, recognizing why this album felt essential to Williams’ bigger career.
The title is a reference to a truth reflective throughout the entire album. In order to be strong, she needs to be vulnerable. Petals, as in reference to flowers, may seem weak but are essential to a flower’s growth. This is the blooming of a personal identity finally being allowed to express itself without the confines of what we know. Much like Gwen Stefani a generation before her, the solo album reinvention is to create something new and exciting, an artistic expression that has the potential to stand on its own over the course of her career. At 31, she sounds ready to start a new phase.
The album was actually released in three parts as if a trilogy of music that embodies different phases in her writing process. She announced the album on her birthday with the release of the opening track “Simmer.” Suddenly there was a ferocity to her voice, finding an exploration of abuse as her big debut. This was a message that she had to personally share, reflective of a performer ready to open some wounds in order to hopefully heal:
Rage is a quiet thingOoh, you think that you've tamed itBut it's just lying in waitRage, is it in our veins?Feel it in my face whenWhen I least expect it
This is ultimately the story of self-acceptance over the course of 15 tracks, delving into the ways that Williams has personally tried to remain strong not only to herself but to others. It’s important to start with “Simmer” because it reflects what is holding her back, serving as a barrier by which everything else must jump over. She’s starting a new era of her life and wanting to put the negativity behind her. By confronting her vulnerability here, she captures an experience often shied away from but needs to be discussed.
While one would assume that this is the start of a joyride through independence, it’s one that comes with reflecting on the equally complex themes of death. In the next song “Leave It Alone,” she explores a depression of a different kind. At this moment, she has found empowerment, but questions if she found it too late. Everyone is dying around her and she regrets the time that she can’t have with them. She is eager to have it, and the confusion fills her with a familiar depression. She even discusses this worry on a familial level, discussing how her grandmother’s head trauma after falling down the stairs ultimately made Williams a fading memory.
While this album may sound like it starts depressing, it’s more interesting to see how Williams goes about it musically. Whereas Paramore was more in the pop-punk vein, we have her giving more into dance-pop, such as the spaced-out sounds that at times recall Sia. Her voice is more polished, mature, reflecting an ability to stick these heart-wrenching thoughts into hooks, co-produced by band member Taylor York. As things get darker, she has a way of making the pop more ambient, luring us into the uncertainty of things to come.
There’s the infectious “Cinnamon,” which may be the most upbeat song from “Petals for Armor I.” The song about her break-up with New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert finds her wishing to keep her distance from him while wishing to use her dog as a therapist. It’s clever and cute, but the chorus is where the song is at its most fun. You can’t help but dance as she sings about the joy of being single. She may be alone, but she isn’t lonely. Over the course of three songs, she has already expressed a complicated view on our internal drive, and to have this affirming song is only outdone by the established theme:
Eat my breakfast in the nudeLemon water, living roomHome is where I'm feminineSmells like citrus and cinnamon
There is nobody there to change her image, and you can hear her smiling throughout the song. When paired with the next song “Creepin’,” she finds a lot of complexity in the desperate love of an ex. The beat sounds like it’s moving around Williams throughout the song, trying to get into her life. She won’t let it, and it’s here that everything begins to become more upbeat. This is a woman wanting to better her life, forcing the demons out and finding what matters most to her.
As much as the album can play as one cohesive piece, it feels like each of the three parts reflect a small growth in the narrative of Williams’ life. Whereas “Petals for Armor I” focuses on separating herself from abusive relationships and finding a way to live a meaningful life alone, the second third finds her developing that bigger confidence. “Dead Horse” is the most playful song on the album, using the familiar adage to reflect how some people are stuck in the past. She’s beginning to sound more upbeat, the sound catchier, and you begin to feel her soul.
This may be a woman who is still depressed and contemplating with life, but her exploration has caused her to evolve and look at the relationships that have nothing to do with romance. These are ones like “My Friend,” which find her dedicating a song to the people in her life that see her on all sides, giving her reason to live. These are the meaningful relationships that she should’ve been focused on. These are the most endearing songs, where self-expression may sound goofy but is ultimately needed.
By “Rose/Lotus/Violet/Iris,” the flower imagery becomes fully realized and you understand everything that she has been building towards. Even if she sees herself sometimes depressed, other times alone, she still has some strength inside that she keeps striving for. She gets up every day and tries to make the most of it because she knows she has friends, she has value. The flowers, much like the feminine imagery, are these symbols of empowerment, giving her the armor she needs to be strong when entering the room. This is especially true by the penultimate track “Watch Me While I Bloom.”
What is interesting about this trilogy of mini-albums is how Williams has chosen to portray herself through music videos. There are moments, like in “Leave It Alone,” that feel directly lifted from films like Annihilation (2017), showing her dancing opposite faceless dancers, her own appearance beginning to decay. There’s a surreal mix to the art, showing her mental state through deteriorating skin and grotesque imagery. This is the type of pop music that is driven by a deeper emotion. The beat almost doesn’t matter, serving more as an artistic pulse. You're drawn in by Williams’ charismatic reinvention, suddenly colorful and turning a living space into her next big project.
Even if you may find a lot of her vocal tics reminiscent of modern pop trends like Sia and Lana Del Rey, it’s still a pretty affective album. The meticulous craft doesn’t feel like a gimmick. Even if I’ve never heard her sing like this before, she still manages to captivate with unexpected control. Every note feels believable, reflecting deeper anguish that is ultimately engrossing, reflecting the many sides of her complicated life. None of it is cheap, instead allowing her vulnerability to speak for itself and thus creating an album whose dark subjects are never depressing, but instead life-affirming. Most of us will recognize the struggles of Williams, and it works here.
With all of that said, the section making up “Petals for Armor III” has the biggest breakthrough in any collection of music on this album. It’s gotten into the downright joyous, allowing for her sadness to be paired with a greater feeling for life. It’s of a flower that has been blooming slowly, the tempo growing over the last few tracks, and is now ready to pop the cork on the champagne and celebrate.
She takes joy in knowing that she’s “Taken,” and by the end, she is relieved that everything is “Crystal Clear.” It’s here that suddenly we hear what a more optimistic outlook sounds like, and it’s great to have gone on this journey with her. This isn’t to say that she’s completely better. Her maturity won’t allow her to think that everything is flawless. Still, she takes time on “Taken” to address what she now finds in love:
It's easy to see how people stop believing'Cause everyone I know's got a broken heartAnd though I'm still picking up my piecesHe makes me wanna give it another shot
When we leave the company of Williams, I feel surprised to know that she has only gotten better since I stopped paying attention. What I find on this album is another journey into personal life, allowing everything to develop and grow through a metaphorical text while reflecting the struggles that she has faced along the way. You ultimately feel better having heard her album. It’s therapeutic, making one feel less alone in the world, wanting to imagine a brighter world.
Unlike that person I see on the street, I feel like saying “Good for you!” and want to revisit the album sometime soon. It’s emotionally rich and fun to listen to and, most of all, I think that she manages to evade gimmickry in favor of something deeper and honest. She isn’t just making another dance record. This is one that feels deeply rooted in something she couldn’t do in pop-punk. It’s an emancipation from her past, and the results are splendid. Good for you, Hayley Williams, good for you.
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