HAYLEY WILLIAMS’ PATCHWORK MASTERPIECE: ‘EGO DEATH AT A BACHELORETTE PARTY’
Heartbreak, Love, Anger, and Introspection – all prominent in the new album released by Hayley Williams. The album Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, composed of 18 songs, originally released as individual singles earlier in the summer, is finally in its final form as a complete album. And although they were originally disconnected singles, the songs in their new album-order flow so seamlessly that they create a patchwork album of perfection.
The album begins with “Ice In My OJ,” which is catchy on the surface yet has a deep underlying tone of exasperation. Hayley explores her long relationship with the music industry and interpolates a portion of “Jumping Inside” by Mammoth City Messengers, the Christian music band she was in as a teen. “I’m in a band! I’m in a band!” Hayley screams during the chorus, followed by “I’m a cold hard bitch / Lotta dumb motherfuckers that I made rich.” This is a bold song to start off the album, for sure.
Moving into a more introspective vibe, “Glum” highlights the complex feelings of growing up and not feeling in control. A combination of nostalgia-inducing lyrics and unique instrumental usage throughout create the perfect gloomy effect of feeling just a bit lost in life. “I do not know if I’ll ever know / What the living fuck I’m doing here / Does anyone know if this is normal?”
In “Kill Me,” Hayley examines the battle of being an eldest daughter, suggesting that it takes the strength of a soldier. The lyrics are a look into the raw emotions of generational trauma: “Carrying my mother’s mother’s torment / I think I’m where my bloodline ends / I’ll never do the right thing again / Go ahead and kill me / Can’t get much stronger / Find another soldier.” Adding to the dynamics of the song are the haunting vocals of a child saying “I’m sorry that you’re going through something hard,” as if taking on the responsibility of her mother’s emotions more than her own.
Next, we move into “Whim” which lives up to its name. Both the lyrics and instrumentals are whimsical, and the song feels like one straight out of the 90s/00s whimsigoth era – think Cranberries, Mazzy Star, and bôa. This is also perhaps the first outright optimistic song on the album and is a nice change of pace. The lyrics are indeed whimsical and hopeful: “Sunshine through the curtain / Music in my head / Still be singing to you / Long after we’re dead.”
“Mirtazapine” is Hayley’s love song to the antidepressant of the same name. “You make me eat, you make me sleep / Mirtazapine / you let me dream, you let me dream.” A love song to her meds? Such a Hayley Williams move to make!
The next two songs, “Disappearing Man” and “Love Me Different” focus on heartbreak and healing. It’s interesting that Hayley chose them to be next to each other on the album, as they seem to follow the healing process. In “Disappearing Man” the heartbreak is fresh and upsetting: “You could really have anyone / And you had me / Why did you let go?” And in “Love Me Different” there are signs of hope and healing within the heartbreak: “And know that you’re probably telling yourself / That no one’s gonna love me like you did / And I know that you’re probably right about that / But someone’s gonna love me different / And I want someone to love me different.”
In a thematic pivot, the next song, “Brotherly Hate” uses a mesmerizing bass progression to follow the love/hate relationship between two people who have had a falling out and are too stubborn to make up. While this could have any real-world meaning to Hayley, or none at all, the song has a strong rhythm that makes the vague lyrics actually pretty catchy.
Next up is “Negative Self Talk” which like “Glum” is another introspective song. The song is a moody mix of guitar and percussion that evokes melancholy. As for the lyrics, Hayley focuses on the loudness in silence. When it’s quiet and no one is around, what else is there than the "chorus of my worst thoughts,” as she puts it. The song is very effective in setting that echo-y mood that it transports you right into your own negative self-talk only to drag you right back out with a hopeful ending of “I am Vasalisa, guide me through the night / Nothing more will enter me but light / And I won’t hear it / Negative Self Talk.” Vasalisa, of course, is a Russian fairytale character who uses her own wisdom and intuition to escape a witch.
At the midpoint of the album, we finally reach the titular track, “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party,” which explores the complex emotions of being a musician. Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond? Williams suggests that both are bad in the end.
“Hard” has a unique instrumental progression that works well at highlighting the emotional shifts between finding strength when you’re at your most vulnerable. A strong drum presence that overlaps lyrics of self-reflection that then turns into a hard guitar section during the chorus about being tough and hard. “Hard” is an interesting song about strength in which Hayley successfully uses distinct words like “metal cages” and “armor” to describe her physical and emotional weaknesses in a gripping way.
In “Discovery Channel” Hayley samples the 1999 hit “The Bad Touch” by Bloodhound Gang. But while “The Bad Touch” was a very unserious song, “Discovery Channel” highlights the very serious emotional ups and downs of relationship endings. And with the lyrics “20-something years ago / We started playing a little game / And now we’re all gonna sit down and we’re gonna finish it / And guess what? Your turn,” Hayley all but confirms that the song is about the end of her relationship with Atlantic Records, which lasted 20 years.
“True Believer” is a standout song on the album. Not only is it melodically distinct in tone and instrumental usage in comparison to the rest of the album, but the lyrics are hauntingly poetic. We deviate from love, headache, and introspection for a song to tackle the hypocrisy of Evangelical Christianity. “They pose in Christmas cards with guns as big as all their children / They say that Jesus is the way, but then they gave him a white face / So they don’t have to pray to someone they deem lesser than them.”
The next three songs, “Zissou,” “Dream Girl In Shibuya,” and “Blood Bros,” are much more lighthearted in tone. They are the love songs of the album, and the instrumentals match, using more lighthearted guitar strumming and upbeat percussion.
With a haunting bass, “I Won’t Quit On You” explores devotion, loyalty, and isolation. Hayley uses the metaphor of aliens, space, and astronauts to tell the weight of loving someone who isn’t as devoted as you. “Lonely astronaut / It’s gonna cost / But you just can’t beat the view.”
And finally, we get to the album’s finale, “Parachute.” The instrumental staccato teamed with curling vocals and sharp guitar moments perfectly evokes the physical act of falling and the emotional “spiral” described in the song.
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party is so deeply personal that it feels like we are listening to Hayley’s audio diary of intimate and raw thoughts on love, heartbreak, and strength. Each track is unique in style and creativity, deep-diving into specific themes and immersing the listener full-heartedly into individual scenes. The tones and mood vary wildly, but feel extremely cohesive in an intimate “this is my unfiltered life” type of way. Hayley Williams has once again proved that she is a creative wizard with the power to enchant everyone with her magical music.