Healing is not linear, and no one knows that better than Hayley Williams. The orange-haired beauty released her emotions one guitar solo and vocal riff at a time as the lead singer of Paramore, the emo rock band so many of us grew up with. In early February, she dropped her second solo album, FLOWERS FOR VASES/descansos, a self-proclaimed prequel to her first solo outing, Petals For Armor. The new album is a visceral window into the pain that once influenced her life, painting an image of a dead garden suffocated by weeds and not yet ready to be planted, let alone bloom.
Williams posted on her Instagram Story that the album was written in the Nashville home where she’s been living since Paramore released their 2017 album After Laughter. “I wrote and performed this album in [its] entirety,” she wrote. “That’s a career first for me.” That’s apparent. The sound is unlike anything Williams has released before, a soft alternative folk that invites us in in a way that feels forbidden. Similar to that feeling of reading your sibling’s diary or a text message that wasn’t meant for you, the 14 tracks feel like a peek into the rambling mind of a woman who is comfortable being transparent about her vulnerabilities. The title says it all with the Spanish word descansos, which means rest; it’s also a word for the crosses you often see on the side of the road, memorials for those who died in that spot. It’s no wonder many of these songs are reminiscent of an elegy.
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The lulling sound of Williams’ voice and instrumental carries through the tracks, with standouts such as “Asystole” offering an upbeat reprieve. The antithesis of its medical definition, a serious and irreversible heart attack, the song leaves listeners thinking it’s over before pulling them back in with a resurgent string instrumental. Williams bares all in “Trigger,” her wispy voice coated in disappointment with the realization that those you trust may not truly care about you. And “Descansos,” perhaps the most powerful song on the album, has no lyrics, but its somber sound foreshadows the end, with a slight hope of more as Williams’ vocal runs wrap you in a much-needed hug.
Williams bares this side of herself after a tumultuous year that was difficult for everyone. With exposed personal lyrics, a new, more ethereal sound, and layered, enveloping vocals, Williams is embracing sadness and the unknown in her life more than ever before. From start to finish, the album relays a story of heartbreak, childhood sadness, and ignorant hope that many listeners will likely relate to. The overarching message? It’s okay to be sad. You’re allowed to hold onto things that aren’t good for you. We all heal differently.
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It’s a message particularly potent to Williams’ fans, and she’s proven their importance to her over and over during promotion for FLOWERS FOR VASES/descansos. She sent plastic doll limbs, black roses, and even an unreleased song to different fans, stirring hype in the weeks preceding the album drop. She’s been very vocal about her love and support for them on her social media, and recently revealed her amusement over the resurrection of old Paramore songs on TikTok. It’s no a surprise that she’s able to be so open in her music—she can trust that her fans will be there and, of course, cry along to her songs.
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With Williams making her own music, there’s always the fear that her beloved band will be on hiatus indefinitely, but she assured fans with a simple note: “Yes, Paramore is still a band.” And we can only hope that yes, she will continue making music we can sing at the top of our lungs, ugly cry to in our car, and, one day, experience together again in concert.
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