Hayley Williams - FLOWERS for VASES / descansos album review

(Image credit: Supplied)

HAYLEY WILLIAMS
FLOWERS for VASES / descansos
ATLANTIC / WARNER

The surprise sequel to Hayley Williams’ synth-inflicted solo debut, Petals For Armor, puts the enigmatic Paramore frontwoman in a much gloomier and more introspective atmosphere. The slow-burning journey is strikingly analogue, Williams laying her soul bare over a bed of raw, folky acoustic guitars and warm, empyrean keys.

Such visceral honesty and tangible intimacy makes the record a bold and bewitching listen from cover to cover; we’ve always known Hayley had a skill for earnest and emotive balladry, but Flowers For Vases ups the ante tenfold with its soft and strained vocal runs and wintry, understated melodies. It’s a truly enthralling spread of strum and sonder, on which Williams fully embraces her Nashville origins and absolutely nails every folky bend and atmospheric warble.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Ellie Robinson is an Australian writer, editor and dog enthusiast with a keen ear for pop-rock and a keen tongue for actual Pop Rocks. Her bylines include music rag staples like NME, BLUNT, Mixdown and, of course, Australian Guitar (where she also serves as Editor-at-Large), but also less expected fare like TV Soap and Snowboarding Australia. Her go-to guitar is a Fender Player Tele, which, controversially, she only picked up after she'd joined the team at Australian Guitar. Before then, Ellie was a keyboardist – thankfully, the AG crew helped her see the light…

Latest

“It’s a testament to just how much utility it provides”: Reverb has revealed its best-selling pedals of 2024 – and it seems we have a winner in this year’s amp modeler race

See more latest ►

“This pickup could have come out of a late-’50s Gibson. If you had a guitar from that era with these pickups, everyone would be like, ‘Wow. That’s a badass-sounding Les Paul’”: How Adam “Nolly” Getgood and Bare Knuckle reinvented the P.A.F. for a new era

“From the first chord, we both thought, ‘Wow’ – I quit my band and moved to Denmark”: How husband-and-wife duo the Courettes became one of the most exciting bands in the garage-rock underground

“I won seven guitar contests in a row. When I went to enter again, they said, ‘No, don’t even enter – you’re going to judge the next one’”: Dimebag Darrell discusses his love of soloing – even when it was uncool – and dishes advice in his final interview

“I was having so much anxiety about getting a great sound that I wasn’t writing songs… I said, ‘I’m gonna stop thinking about it. This is going to be my sound’”: Tom Morello on his tone struggles and what he learned from teaching his son Roman how to play

“I have a Southern accent, and it’s the same on the guitar. I adapted the guitar to do the talking for me when I was too shy”: Marcus King on why your fretboard has its own language – and how mental health became his muse

“When we learn to improvise, the first thing we pay attention to is where to put our fingers… rarely do any of us pay attention to the rhythm of a melody or lick”: Can’t figure out why your improvised solos don’t feel right? Here’s how to fix them

“I played a 5-string with Lauryn Hill, but it didn’t feel like a real bass”: Raised on R&B, schooled by fusion, and empowered by punk rock, Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer remains a 4-string purist

“Zoom discontinued that pedal because nobody bought it – but bass players are always coming up to me wanting to know how I got those sounds”: Remembering jazz great Victor Bailey, who used an unsung multi-FX pedal for his cover of Prince’s biggest hit

Proggy Pentatonic! How to Use the Good Ol’ Pentatonic Scale in Cool New Ways

“I had a hard time playing in tune. The producer stopped me and said, ‘George, tune up again.’ I didn’t realize the value of that until Breezin’ came out”: How George Benson landed a hit album by breaking the rules – and learning to play in tune

“Even though a Marshall sounded fantastic, I refused to play one. That’s my bad… I had a terrible sound for years”: Punk-grunge icon Donita Sparks on ironic gear choices, L7’s infamous Reading Festival set and why recording with Butch Vig was “maddening”

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular