HAYLEY WILLIAMS - FLOWERS for VASES / DESCANSOS
From fiery Paramore lead to a self-aware, solo swan, Hayley Williams buries her former relationship with FLOWERS for VASES/DESCANSOS, each track representing a shovel of dirt into the shallow grave.
From fiery Paramore lead to a self-aware, solo swan, Hayley Williams stunned with her debut solo album Petals For Armor in May last year. A sultry, emotionally-charged, cathartic journal of acceptance following heartache, Williams was musically ambitious in her pop exploration.
Unexpectedly dropping her follow up two-part sophomore album on Friday 5 February, Williams prefaced the 14-track collection, FLOWERS for VASES / descansos, by labelling it as the prequel to Petals For Armor and its abundantly clear why. FLOWERS for VASES / descansos is the visceral depiction of loss, grief and heartache experienced at the hand of Williams marriage breakdown. The secondhand pain, emotion and empathy is jarringly transferable from opener ‘First Thing To Go’ right through to the cinematic climax of ‘Just A Lover’. Cue the bed bound depressive state.
Written and recorded in her Nashville home, Williams is the sole instrumentalist, with production by Daniel James, with tracks rattling with rawness and restraint. Williams surrenders to stillness whilst an acoustic guitar carries her wounded memory as the details of her ex-lover slip away on ‘First Thing To Go’. The vowel rolls offer subtle nods to Sunny Day Real Estates ‘Tearing In My Heart’; a track that contextually draws striking parallels. ‘Tearing In My Heart’ also opens with the laughs of children on a playground, with Williams taking a similar approach to instrumental hymn, ‘Descansos’ in the form of a baby giggle.
‘My Limb’ sits further to the front of the pack with its instrumentation fullness, incorporating some of the pop exploration from Petals For Armour, whilst ‘Asystole’ adopts Spanish flamenco grooves. Both these tracks see Williams dig into the physical pain of heartache and losing a part of herself in a literal sense – cutting off a limb and flatlining. The heavenly piano outro of ‘Asystole’ has its own lifeform, potentially representing afterlife following the silent, lingering end.
‘Trigger’, ‘Good Grief’, ‘Wait On’ and ‘Inordinary’ feel familiar with their folk and almost country hums. For a powerhouse vocalist with an admirable range, Williams stays between whispered restraint and gentle melodic conviction which drives her unabashed songwriting home. ‘HYD’ has an unexpectedly light-hearted opening, with the inclusion of a recording blunder caused by a passing vehicle and Williams remarking “Are you fucking kidding me?” before starting again, the mixing bringing the final take to the front. It also provides the considered pondering “I wonder how you view me, how you view me now”, bringing attention to the insecurities that arise from breakups.
‘Over Those Hills’ and the closer ‘Just A Lover’ are standout songs, built from repetition, incremental inclines and a stunning balance of light and shade; ‘Just A Lover’ leading to the spiritual-shifting crescendo of “no more music for the masses”.
The album title FLOWERS for VASES / descansos is symbolic of memoriam as Williams buries her former relationship, each track representing a shovel of dirt into the shallow grave.
Tammy Walters
★★★★☆