With 2007's
Riot!,
Paramore proved that pop hooks and a killer set of pipes can still vault a band to platinum status, economic downturn be damned. Success comes with a price, though, and
Paramore struggled as media outlets reserved most of their coverage for
Hayley Williams, deemed by many to be the group's leader. Rather than calling it quits, the musicians sought therapy in the studio, where tales of self-doubt and frustration were captured on tape by mega-producer
Rob Cavallo. The anthemic, celebratory songs that made
Riot! so appealing were largely absent, but the band found a new way to rock during those sessions, prizing catharsis and nuanced arrangements above the hooks of albums past.