Paramore - Pressure

October 21, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Paramore gets my Sunday Revisit, purely because I couldn't believe I have never reviewed this music video, as it is their first ever single and music video release. Therefore it is their most important single, as it is what got them to where they are now, even though it didn't chart anywhere except in the US. But if it wasn't released then the band might not be who they are today. Paramore were a five-piece band back then, consisting of Hayley Williams, Josh Farro, Zac Farro, Jeremy Davis and Jason Bynum. The line-up has now changed. I also saw Paramore live with Tink09 and Hollagram Star in 2008 as you know from all my previous Paramore blog posts. "Pressure" was written by Hayley Williams. It's a catchy song that the band perform amazingly. However recently they have moved in a very different direction and just shows how much a band can change over a matter of a few years.

This music video relates to this song pretty well. I love how they have managed to include a pressure gauge, it's a nice little extra to link the video with the song. The video is definitely low budget, however if it were to be remade, they would just update it as it's perfect the way it is.

I like how it shows that things builds up and makes you pressured into doing things you don't want to do. It really reminds me of Avril Lavigne's "Don't Tell Me" although it's 2 different takes. However I'm not sure I agree with showing someone walking out of his job because he can't stand the pressure, whatever happened to being strong and not walking away? However I get why they have shown that.

I bet Paramore loved the water bit, it looks like they had a lot of fun, just letting go and performing while sprinklers are raining down on them.

Overall a great first single from this band, however it didn't chart well anywhere and I think that was down to the promotion of the song. On the other hand the band has made it, a lot of people know who this band is and they keep getting chart hits. This music video is low budget but has a good narrative and performance side. Nonetheless there are some bits that I don't agree with and therefore this video deserves this rating.