As anyone certified in crashing out knows, a suitably moody song can change the direction of a breakdown. Hayley Williams’ massive new album Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party could not have been released at a more perfect time, with school and relationship stress kicking into high gear for my pals and the gals. The album is full of high-energy, kickass songs that make you want to scream and dance along. They touch on topics like mental health and self-growth, culminating with the song of the hour, “Parachute.”
The song is very dynamic. It starts almost in slow motion, ringing like the moment after a car crash. It suddenly builds into the chorus, singing:
“I thought you were gonna catch me /
I never stopped falling for you /
Now I know better, never let me /
Leave home without a parachute”
I think the chorus speaks to a kind of betrayal felt in any relationship when you expect someone to have your back, and they let you down. A parachute in this metaphor is Hayley’s way of saying you have to look after yourself, which can be thought of in one of two ways. On the one hand, pessimistically, it suggests that trusting people will never turn out well. In the context of the entire album, I’d say it suggests taking more personal responsibility for yourself and learning from the experience of “free falling.”
The rawness on the bridge (“Tell me what was the moment you decided to give up?”) is what drives this song to a whole other level for me. While the metaphor of taking care of yourself is there, the song doesn’t let go of the blame (“You could’ve told me what you wanted, I would’ve done anything”). I think it’s a great dichotomy that shows up in the song’s energy, being slow and self-reflective in the verse and fast and spiteful in the chorus.
Other great songs on the album include “Glum,” “Mirtazapine,” and “Kill Me,” which tell their own stories about dealing with mental health and traumas.
Overall, the entire new album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, brings the story, the emotional depth and the straight-up jams that could help any gal, gay or they through a crisis. Hats off to Hayley for sharing a delectable album and a radical song applicable to whatever the justified listener has to crash out over.
