Paramore Explain Their New Video “Told You So”
Hayley Williams and original drummer Zac Farro tell The FADER how they made another goddamn classic.
The best thing about this month is that on the 12th there’ll be a new Paramore album. Called After Laughter, the band’s fifth LP heralds both the return of founding drummer Zac Farro and a new summer season to be spent emoting to glorious pop-punk. (Or maybe they're actually doing something sunny-funk now?)
In fact, Zac wrote and directed today’s video for “Told You So.” With help from Aaron Joseph, he based it on the band’s car rides after recording sessions in L.A. “Zac noticed that my anxiety and overall state was just a lot more peaceful on those drives,” lead singer Hayley Williams told The FADER, “and mentioned to me that it made him happy to see me rest for a moment. It means a lot that they conceptualized a video around a passing moment we had as friends.”
She said they used Zac’s actual car for filming, and shot the rest at guitarist Taylor York’s house with a bunch of friends. “There's darkness and suspense and then there's a sense of unity in the full band shots in the car,” she said, “where we all wear red and dance together to the music.”
“‘Told You So’ is such a visual song to me,” Zac said. “The rhythms and lyrics caught my attention from day one. So I knew the music video needed to be equally as striking and rhythmic.”