In Solitude, Hayley Williams Finds Herself
Her latest album, “Flowers for Vases/descansos,” grapples with grief through delicate vocals and pared-back instrumentation.
Hayley Williams is no stranger to baring her soul.
The Paramore frontwoman has belted and crooned about heartbreak, depression, and anger for more than a decade across five albums. Last May, though, Williams released her first solo album, Petals for Armor, after years of openly expressing disinterest in a project without Paramore. But what Petals for Armor achieved through bright, dancey synthpop and biting lyrics about the duality of resilience and rage, her latest release accomplishes through gentleness. Flowers for Vases/descansos finally lets Williams contemplate and mourn without needing to look on the bring side.
Recorded at her home studio in Nashville, Flowers for Vases/descansos is written and produced by Williams alone, a career first, without the assistance or influence of her bandmates. The songs themselves are autobiographical, detailing the separation, anxieties, and regrets that have haunted Williams after rocky, debilitating disputes with ex-members of Paramore as well as her divorce from New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert. It’s an apt album after nearly a year spent in quarantine.
