Hayley Williams Steps into a New Era with 17 Solo Tracks
In an era where music drops risk getting lost in the noise, artists are constantly finding inventive ways to stand out. Taylor Swift has famously capitalised on her moments on stage, accepting awards and announcing albums at the same time. Turnstile recently took over cinemas to showcase a visual film which accompanies their latest album, Never Enough. Kendrick Lamar turned his widely publicised feud with Drake into strategic rollout, premiering a teaser track on social media before releasing GNX in full only 30 minutes later. The latest in surprise releases, however, came this past week from Paramore’s own Hayley Williams when she released not one single, but a whole suite of new songs. Unofficially dubbed Ego by fans, this collections marks an independent and introspective chapter for the artist.
PHOTOGRAPHY by Zachary Gray
The first breadcrumb in the release of these songs, could be found in the airwaves of Nashville public radio station, WNXP, who debuted the single, ‘Mirtazapine’ – a grungey rock song and an ode to Williams' favoured anti-depressant – on 23rd July. This was then followed up, just a few days later, with the announcement of a new hair-dye shade by Williams’ haircare company Good Dye Young which she founded alongside her stylist Brian O’Connor. The name of the shade was Ego and buyers of the product received a unique code that allowed them exclusive access to Williams’ new website, stylised as a 90s computer desktop with 17 never-before-heard .mp4 files waiting to be played and listened to for the very first time. Fast forward a week, and the songs are now available on streaming services, notably published as standalone tracks rather than part of a formal album.
The collection has all been produced by Daniel James, a longtime collaborator of Williams, who produced her previous album Flowers for Vases/descansos back in 2021. The result is a confident sound, distinctively at home in the alt rock space that Williams is so comfortable in, yet one that takes detours into shoe gaze, trip hop and 90s grunge. Whilst Williams’ past projects have always felt self assured, these singles feel laced with a sense of self that has allowed for more experimentation. It’s Williams having fun, no doubt touching on serious subjects, but with a distinct level of creative freedom that appears to be ushering in a new era for the Paramore front woman.
Surprise albums are by no means a new thing in the music industry, but each time an artists decides to drop a collection of new tracks all at once, it’s a welcomed disturbance to the traditional release path associated with major record labels. By releasing these 17 new singles in the way she has, Hayley Williams establishes her new-found independence from Atlantic records, following the end of Paramore’s contract with the company in 2024. The collection of songs also confidently portrays many aspects of Williams as a person; her vices, her beliefs, the little things that help her get by. Tracks such as ‘Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party’ and ‘True Believer’ explore her relationship with the South; a place that is her home but with increasingly disparate political views to her own. ‘Disappearing Man’ and ‘Love Me Different’ have fans speculating whether her romance with bandmate Taylor York has come to an end. Songs like ‘Dream Girl in Shibuya’ seem to tell stories of their own, no doubt inspired by her own experiences, but with a narrative quality that invites listeners to interpret the lyrics through their own lens — blurring the line between autobiography and fiction in a way that feels both intentional and intimate.
Listen to the full collection of songs now on Spotify.