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Paramore
Paramore

Framing Hanley’s sophomore album is a lot different from their previous effort. Where the band’s last effort was a solid debut it was more of an underground thing that only a few people picked up on. The music on the album was fantastic, but it wasn’t exactly tailor-made for rock radio. Eventually the band covered “Lollipop” and that went on to be a big success. But the front man of the band- Kenneth Nixon will be the first person to tell you that the cover song being the most popular song off of the album is not what the band wanted. They liked their work on the song but that being the song that was the most notable left a bitter taste in their mouths. “A Promise to Burn” shouldn’t just put the band beyond their “Lollipop” stigma, but should put them on mainstream radio and in the minds of rock fans across the nation. From start to finish the album plays amazing with some key vocal triumphs from Nixon. On songs like “Weight of the World” Nixon shows off a flat out ability to sing. His range is tremendous and he adds something extra to every song on the album that other vocalists couldn’t even begin to touch. The mainstream element is the key to this record. Every song here is ready to catch on with the masses and the aforementioned “Weight of the World” is an interesting modern-era monster ballad with a tremendous hook. “A Promise to Burn” improves on the band’s previous outing and sets them up to keep building on their success. There are plenty of singles to catch on and remove the stigma of “Lollipop” but they have to get played first. Still, the band created an album with a lot of potential for success, now they just have to work to get it. "A Promise to Burn" was made for the masses and let's hope the masses get to hear it. This band deserves to be successful.