Josh Farro was the backbone of Paramore until his departure in 2010. Over the course of three records and countless amazing arrangements, he stole the hearts of many people, and even managed to earn three Grammy nominations.
(Photo obtained via Facebook)
Paramore was the little band that could from Franklin Tennessee, and by all accounts, they still are.
But this is not that band.
Farro is the new project from Josh Farro, and their new single “Color Rush” premiered on Thanksgiving, showcasing a bright, refreshing sound from the man who brought you some of the best songs of the mid to late 2000’s. If this isn’t a comeback, I don’t know what is. The song starts with a slightly overdriven guitar, which, surprisingly, breaks into a synth lead, and keeps time at a just-barely-over moderate tempo. Farro’s vocals are surprisingly on point. He has an extremely pleasing tone, almost Chris Carrabba-esque, and his falsetto is, in a word, gorgeous. Any worries I had were quickly demolished upon my first listen. The dude can sing.
What’s best is to hear the fun behind this song. There’s no pretense anymore. This band doesn’t need to rely on their guitarist/vocalists’ previous band to make it big; they can do it on their own.
They’ve written at least one song worthy of people’s attention, and that’s an accomplishment these days, what with singles often being the weakest tracks from their full-length counterparts. For fans of the Farro brothers, great songwriting should be expected, but for anyone who previously wrote off Paramore for being too “teen-y” or “Emo,” this is definitely worth the time.
Surprise seems to be the common theme with this new single. After the disappointment that was Novel American, and hearing that Josh would be taking over lead vocals, there was a fair amount of doubt going into this reviewer’s first listen. However, Farro has boatload of potential, and now, a fantastic new single under their belt. If they keep up the momentum they’ve started with this new piece of music, there’s no telling how far they could go. The sky’s the limit, really, so I highly suggest you get in on the ground floor.
