The album was produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded in Hidden Hills, California from January to March, 2009. It topped the charts in many countries across the world including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, making it the band's highest charting album to date. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on January 19, 2010 for shipments in excess of 500,000 albums. It was certified platinum in the UK for selling shipments exceeding 300,000 and in Ireland for exceeding 15,000 shipments. The album won Best Album at the Kerrang! Awards 2010.
Brand New Eyes is the last album recorded by Paramore before Josh and Zac Farro left the band.
Background, writing and production
I was writing these lyrics, and they didn't feel good — some of it hurt, some of it was like, 'Am I being too honest even with myself?' I had doubts that it was the right record.
Paramore spent six weeks in pre-production at Emac Studios in their hometown of Franklin, the first time they had undergone pre-production without the guidance of a producer. A visit from record producer Rob Cavallo reassured the band that they were on the right track. "The album totally rocks," Cavallo said, "yet it's also very subtle." The band subsequently felt that the album and that their new material had the potential to surpass the success of their previous work. Although it was originally planned to record the album close to home in Nashville, the band commenced recording in Calabasas, California with Cavallo at the end of March 2009. They then added to the original material written at home with additional tunes written with the help of Cavallo after the move to Calabasas. Paramore finished production by May 2009, in time for a tour in support of No Doubt.
Promotion and release
The first single from the album was "Ignorance", which was made available via digital download on July 7, on the same date the album became available for pre-order on Paramore's official website. "Brick by Boring Brick" was confirmed to be the second single from the album, released in November 2009. The album's cover, an image of a butterfly divided from its wings, inspired the line "The angles were all wrong / Now she's ripping wings off of butterflies". The fifth single from the album "Playing God", was released on the 16th November 2010. To assist with promotion of the single, a music video for "Playing God", was also released.Two versions of the album were made available: a standard CD edition as well as a deluxe, limited edition package that has sold out worldwide. The deluxe version included the album on CD with the acoustic versions of Where The Lines Overlap and Ignorance, a 40-page hardcover journal written by Hayley Williams, an exclusive poster that comes with only the box set, a booklet with the lyrics from all the songs from Brand New Eyes, a color vinyl 7" single with the acoustic versions of Ignorance and Where The Lines Overlap, one picture of each band member, a certificate of authenticity, and a DVD featuring a 30 minute long exclusive 'making-of' documentary. The CD was also one of the first to use iTunes LP. It debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, behind Love Is The Answer by Barbra Streisand.
Reception
Critical
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (73/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | 82% |
| Allmusic |    |
| Alternative Press | |
| Big Cheese | |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 |
| Kerrang! | KKKK |
| NME | 7/10 |
| Rock Sound | 9/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | |
Evan Lucy of Billboard also wrote a favorable review, saying, "Although the new set may lack the wide-eyed naiveté that made the group's past efforts so endearing, the newfound maturity makes for a compelling set of songs." Big Cheese magazine awarded a maximum 5 star rating and Cathy Reay wrote, "Brand New Eyes is a huge milestone for an intelligent, honest young band that deserve far more mainstream recognition than they get."
Alternative Press awarded the album 4.5/5 and Scott Heisel praised the improvement of the album over its predecessor; "Riot! was ridiculously top-loaded, with an unmemorable second half. Eyes astonishes from start to finish, with the bouncy and confessional "Looking Up" and the immensely powerful track "All I Wanted" showing up as diamonds in an already gem-covered rough". Sarah Bee, journalist for the BBC gave a largely favorable review and summarized, "If you didn't like Paramore before, their third album is unlikely to sway you. They make the kind of forceful, commercial emo-pop that music lovers love to hate. However, as forceful, commercial emo-pop goes – and it does – Brand New Eyes is very good. It is brash and gauche, but charming."
Rock Sound however, went on to laud the slower efforts. "The album's big surprise comes in the form of the stripped-down closing tracks 'Misguided Ghosts' and 'All I Wanted', which see the fragility of Hayley's vocals laid against sparse instrumentation with truly immaculate results." Reviewer Faye Lewis went on to summarize, "Paramore are a young band growing up in the public glare, and although that would send many to the funny farm, it's made this quintet even stronger and Brand New Eyes is by far their best record yet". Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone scored the album at 3 stars out of 5. Much like Leonie Cooper of NME, he was critical of slower moments: "But some of the sweeping moments blunt the band's fresh-faced immediacy — as if the cute kids from the sticks have had a hard time turning pro." Spin magazine awarded 4 stars out of 5 in their review and complimented the band for standing out in a generic genre. "Paramore's follow-up, Brand New Eyes, which, at a moment of wet-and-wild Warped Tour cynicism (see Cobra Starship and 3OH!3), offers a principled reminder of a more earnest, honest age."
Drowned In Sound awarded the album 8/10 and while writer Paul Stephen Gettings stated the record isn't "pushing any boundaries", he praised its longevity: "[...] if you're already a critic, this isn't going to convince you otherwise. This is a realization, and an affirmation, of Paramore's musical craftmanship and potential longevity. They have allowed themselves to grow and still retain the innocence and optimism that makes them so irresistible." Kerrang! reviewer Dan Slessor gave the album 4 Ks (4/5) and claimed, "...in Brand New Eyes they have arguably delivered the most accomplished and affecting record of their career." NME were also favorable in their review. Although being critical of the album's slower moments, Leonie Cooper praised the record as a whole; "Sure, the two slower tracks might make for a break in the relentless pace, but who needs the rest? If you just so happen to be one of the best in the up-tempo pop-smattered emo-punk game, why bother slowing down? For this lot, more is most certainly more."
Commercial
Commercially, Brand New Eyes was a major success. In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 184,547 copies. The following week the album managed to sell an additional 43,560 copies. The album stayed on the main album chart for 32 weeks. In addition to the Billboard 200, the album managed to peak at number one on the Billboard Rock and Alternative Albums charts. On January 19, 2010, less than six months after the album was released, Brand New Eyes was certified gold by the RIAA for shipments in excess of 500,000 albums.Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Sound | UK | Top 75 Albums of the Year | 2009 | 4 |
| Spin Magazine | US | Spin Magazine Best 09 – Top 40 Albums | 2009 | 20 |
| Billboard 200 | US | Year-End Charts | 2009 | 113 |
| Drowned In Sound | UK | Top 50 Albums of 2009 | 2009 | 10 |
| Kerrang! | UK | Kerrang! Critics' Albums of 2009 | 2009 | 8 |
| Billboard | US | Year-End Charts, Top Alternative Albums of 2009 | 2009 | 20 |
| Billboard | US | Year-End Charts, Top Rock Albums of 2009 | 2009 | 29 |
Tour
Paramore announced their North American tour for Brand New Eyes on their official site, with The Swellers and Paper Route joining them as opening acts. The first show of the tour was played at a packed Fox Theatre in Pomona, California, on September 29, 2009 (the day of the album's release). During "Decode", Williams lost her voice. Lead guitarist Josh Farro spoke to the crowd and although their set was cut short, the band played "Misery Business" instrumentally while the crowd sang Williams's vocal parts. The tour, which previously went from September 29 to November 1, 2009, was later officially postponed on October 2, 2009, due to a case of laryngitis for singer Hayley Williams. The full tour resumed on October 10, 2009, in Chicago.The band also announced that they would be doing a European tour starting off in Helsinki, Finland, on November 29, 2009, with You Me at Six, Paper Route, and Now, Now Every Children supporting all UK tour dates.
They performed in February 2010 in the Australian Soundwave Festival, along with bands such as You Me at Six, Taking Back Sunday, All Time Low and Alexisonfire. They performed at the Soundwave Festival before they did the Brand New Eyes Tour in Australia. Then in the first week of March they performed two concerts in New Zealand, one to a sell out crowd of 5,000 in Auckland and the other in Christchurch. They also performed in Singapore and the Philippines, respectively, as the last two legs of their Pacific Rim Tour.
Paramore have supported Green Day on their tour. They opened the concerts of Green Day in Dublin, Ireland on June 23, 2010 and in Paris, France on June 26, 2010.
In July, August and September 2010, the band announced a tour in the Honda Civic Tour 2010.
In May 2010, the band had a short UK tour for November 2010. After just one day of being on sale they added a second date at the O2 arena due to huge demand for tickets. Since they have added 2 extra dates to take it up to 8 concerts instead of the original 5.
In June 2010, the band announced a short Australia Tour for October.
In November 2010, the band announced a short in South American Tour for February and March 2011, and the band announced a short in American tour for December.
In July 2011, the band had a short Europe tour.
Concert tours
Main article: Brand New Eyes World Tour
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, except where noted.| Standard Edition | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Careful" | 3:50 | |||||||
| 2. | "Ignorance" | 3:39 | |||||||
| 3. | "Playing God" (Williams, Farro, Taylor York) | 3:03 | |||||||
| 4. | "Brick by Boring Brick" | 4:14 | |||||||
| 5. | "Turn It Off" | 4:20 | |||||||
| 6. | "The Only Exception" | 4:28 | |||||||
| 7. | "Feeling Sorry" (Williams, Farro, York) | 3:05 | |||||||
| 8. | "Looking Up" | 3:29 | |||||||
| 9. | "Where the Lines Overlap" | 3:19 | |||||||
| 10. | "Misguided Ghosts" (Williams, Farro, York) | 3:02 | |||||||
| 11. | "All I Wanted" (Williams, York) | 3:49 | |||||||
Total length:
| 40:18 | ||||||||
| International edition |
|---|
| Deluxe edition |
|---|
| iTunes bundle |
|---|
Limited Edition - Bonus DVD
- Making The Album (Documentary) - 30:00
- In Studio Footage
- Interviews
- Paramore.net Episodes:
- (Cocky) Basketball
- Ping Pong
- Cribz, Part 1
- Cribz, Part 2
- Zac And Kevin
- Z And T Presents "Baby Come Back 2 Me"
- Photo Gallery (Exclusive In Studio)
Personnel
The following personnel contributed to Brand New Eyes:Paramore
Former MembersChart performance
| Year-end charts
Certifications
|
| Preceded by Celebration by Madonna | Irish Albums Chart number-one album October 1, 2009 - October 8, 2009 | Succeeded by Celebration by Madonna |
| UK Albums Chart number one album October 4, 2009 - October 11, 2009 | Succeeded by Love Is the Answer by Barbra Streisand | |
| Preceded by Backspacer by Pearl Jam | Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album October 5, 2009 - October 12, 2009 | Succeeded by The E.N.D. by The Black Eyed Peas |
| New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart number-one album October 5, 2009 - October 19, 2009 | Succeeded by Ladyhawke: Collectors Edition by Ladyhawke |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia / Ireland / Germany / Belgium / Austria | September 25, 2009 | Fueled by Ramen | Compact Disc, digital download | 7567895804 | |
| United Kingdom | September 28, 2009 | Fueled by Ramen | Compact Disc, digital download | 7567895804 | |
| United States | September 29, 2009 | Fueled by Ramen | Compact Disc, digital download, LP | 518250 | |
| Japan | Octorber 1, 2009 | Fueled by Ramen | Enhanced CD | WPCR-13685 | |
| Bahrain | September 29, 2009 | Fueled by Ramen | Compact Disc, digital download | 518250 |