Paramore: 'Brand New Eyes'

Paramore recently broke from writing and recording their emotion-heavy rock tunes to officially state that they are not the "house band" for the Twilight franchise. You can understand their motivation. Frontwoman Hayley Williams may be a self-confessed fan of the series, but the last thing any serious band wants is to be forever aligned with a film phenomenon - and Paramore are nothing if not serious.

Nevertheless, the crossing of teen favourites Paramore with those infamous moody vamps will have got 10%-ers in business suits rubbing their hands with glee and mumbling scary words like "synergy", and the group have dutifully included soundtrack number 'Decode' as a bonus track on Brand New Eyes. However, it's to their credit that this epic backdrop to undead smooching is easily eclipsed - if you'll excuse the pun - by much of the music here.

The album's best tracks combine giant chords, loud drums and Williams's suitably piercing vocals with subject matter that's perfect for young adults struggling with the hardship of feeling ways about stuff. Lead single 'Ignorance', opener 'Careful', 'Feeling Sorry' and 'Where The Lines Overlap' are teeming with Smashing Pumpkins-lite intros and well-constructed, intertwining riffs, while their lyrics offer such pearls as "Your days are numbered at 24", "Ignorance is your new best friend" and, rather brilliantly, "You can't tell me to feel!".

The slower moments, somewhat inevitably, get your finger hovering over the skip key. The arpeggiated 'Misguided Ghosts' isn't too shabby perhaps, but 'The Only Exception' is a meandering yawn-fest, and 'All I Wanted' aims for Vegas torch song levels of grandeur but falls way, way short. Meanwhile, 'Turn It Off' and 'Looking Up' try valiantly but don't really distinguish themselves from the rest of the set.

Listeners past their teens (and especially those blessed with Y chromosomes) will be less likely to join the ranks who've catapulted Brand New Eyes to the top of the charts ahead of Madonna's 25 years of perfect pop. But that's as pointless and redundant an observation as commenting on the demographic of the people turning up to the Waltham Abbey vs. Hastings United match later this week. If you like your guitars loud and your popstars bursting with authentic - if somewhat overwrought - emotion, you won't find it done better than here.