Petals for Armor


Petals for Armor is the debut solo studio album by American singer-songwriter and Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams. It was released on May 8, 2020, on Atlantic Records and serves as the singer's first solo release outside of being a featured artist. The album was preceded by two extended plays, Petals for Armor I and Petals for Armor II, which make up the album's first two parts.
Williams explained the inspiration behind the title of the album is due to her belief that "the best way for me to protect myself is to be vulnerable." The album was produced by Williams' Paramore bandmate Taylor York and was written throughout 2019 during Paramore's hiatus after touring in support of their fifth studio album, After Laughter.
The album was supported by its lead single, "Simmer", which was released in January 2020, accompanied with its music video. In an interview with BBC Radio, Williams confirmed that she will tour in support of Petals for Armor following its release.
Petals for Armor debuted at number eighteen on the US Billboard 200 selling 22,000 copies in its first week.

Background

Following extensive touring in support of Paramore's fifth studio album After Laughter, Hayley Williams expressed her feelings about the group's future moving forward explaining that they were not breaking up, however needed time away from writing and touring. In an interview with BBC Radio, in January 2020, Williams explained her process behind developing the album.

Promotion and release

Singles

In December 2019, Williams announced on her birthday that she would be releasing a "taste" of new solo music in January 2020. Williams revealed the song title on social media on January 20, 2020, after posting various teasers over the course of January which featured a "dark aesthetic", with one including a person running through the woods. On January 22, 2020, Hayley Williams released the lead single "Simmer", the song was written by Williams, Paramore touring musician Joseph Howard, and guitarist Taylor York.
The album's second single, "Dead Horse", was released on April 21, 2020. "'Dead Horse' offers strength back to a younger, weaker version of myself," Williams continues. "I feel like all of this needed to be said in order to embody the kind of woman I hope to be." The music video was released on May 8. It was directed by Zac Farro.

Promotional singles

Singles for ''Petals for Armor I''

"Leave It Alone" was released on January 30, 2020 by Atlantic Records for digital download and to streaming platforms and serves as the second single for Williams' debut solo EP, Petals for Armor I. The song was written by Williams and Joseph Howard and was produced by Taylor York. The music video for "Leave It Alone" was directed by Warren Fu and serves as a sequel to its predecessor "Simmer". It premiered on the same day as the single's release. Another music video, "Leave It Alone Interlude", premiered on February 3, 2020.
"Cinnamon" was released on February 6, 2020 as a third single from her Petals for Armor I project along with the EP's release. The music video for "Cinnamon" was directed by Warren Fu and serves as a sequel to its predecessor "Leave It Alone".

Singles for ''Petals for Armor II''

"Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris" was released on March 19, 2020 with an official lyric video. The song features indie rock band Boygenius, which consists of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, on background vocals. Williams said about the single in her Twitter account.
Williams also released the songs "Over Yet", "My Friend" and "Why We Ever".

Critical reception

Petals for Armor was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 20 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Album of the Year assessed the critical consensus as 79 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.
PublicationAccoladeRank
American SongwriterThe Best Albums Of 2020, So Far
BillboardBillboards 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
SpinSpins 30 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
Consequence of SoundSpins Top 25 Albums of 2020 08
Rolling StoneSpins The 50 Best Albums of 2020 So Far
Entertainment WeeklyThe best albums of 2020… so far
The A.V. ClubThe best albums of 2020 so far

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.
Musicians
Producers and engineers
Artwork