On her charming kiss-off “Favorite Band,” 18-year-old singer-songwriter Chloe Moriondo has an epiphany. Why, she asks herself, is she wasting her time with some aloof wet blanket when she could be “at home with my headphones and Paramore.” Then, with yearning in her voice, she makes her allegiance even clearer: “And Hayley just gets me/The way you never did.”
Since breaking through with 2007’s Riot!, Paramore, led by frontwoman Hayley Williams, have consistently used a combination of emotional honesty, optimism, and spiky guitar hooks to both mirror and smash through the walled-off world of teen angst. A few years ago, the band’s sound and spirit encouraged indie rockers like Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy to pick up guitars, and rapper Lil Uzi Vert once referred to Williams as “the best… of my generation.” Now, Paramore’s influence is being felt by a new group of artists navigating the turbulence of youth, when every heartbreak and setback can feel apocalyptic. Beyond Moriondo, the band’s sound and snarl can be heard in the gleeful middle finger that is Olivia Rodrigo’s No. 1 hit “good 4 u,” the Hot Topic thrash of Willow Smith’s “Transparent Soul,” the diaristic bliss of girl in red’s “Serotonin,” and Billie Eilish’s caustic eye-rolls. That these artists were an average of 5-and-a-half years old when Riot! was released only underscores Paramore’s staying power—and Williams’ role as a sage pop-punk den mother.