User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

Petals for Armor
by
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
Petals for Armor Image
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 455 Ratings

  • Summary: The debut full-length solo release for the Paramore singer was produced by Taylor York.
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. The Line of Best Fit
    May 8, 2020
    100
    Petals For Armor is a display of the multifaceted truth that is ‘femininity’; Williams’ rage is complex yet simple, primal yet now more discrete.
  2. The A.V. Club
    May 8, 2020
    91
    Though it contains mere hints of the scrappy rocker we’ve watched for 15 years, Petals Of Armor is the bold signature of someone who is more than ready to show off different sides of herself—yet has nothing left to prove to anyone.
  3. Consequence
    May 8, 2020
    83
    Williams sounds here like she’s singing about something else, something more her own. The assorted focuses of these songs sound like they’re being relayed less as rallying cries and more as personal thoughts and confessions to a close friend or a lover. The result is a fitting solo debut, a solid album full of friction and honesty.
  4. Q Magazine
    May 7, 2020
    80
    Viewed either as an introduction or reinvention, Williams emerges as a formidable solo artist here. [Jul 2020, p.111]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. Kerrang!
    May 8, 2020
    80
    It’s wilder and unvarnished, adding up to a self-portrait that’s intensely candid and intimate.
  6. Rolling Stone
    May 7, 2020
    80
    At 15 tracks, Petals for Armor can occasionally feel redundant; two or three songs feel like retread territory that was better explored elsewhere, and there’s only so many metaphors you can create for flowers. Still, the album’s final third, while the most pop-oriented section, is also its most interesting. ... It’s the sound of an artist blooming into some the best music of her career.
  7. The Telegraph (UK)
    May 11, 2020
    60
    Whilst Paramore's music tends to be all rage and release, solo Williams offers something much more quirky and cerebral, delving poetically and occasionally combatively into her insecurities. The elaborate intricacy of writing and production may be a lot to take in for all but devoted fans.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 121 out of 131
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 131
  3. Negative: 5 out of 131
  1. Marsianka11
    May 10, 2020
    10
    The Paramore singer’s excellent solo debut is full of feminine imagery and dance music textures that evoke diverse influences from Björk andThe Paramore singer’s excellent solo debut is full of feminine imagery and dance music textures that evoke diverse influences from Björk and Janet Jackson… Expand
  2. Davidjht
    May 8, 2020
    10
    This album is too much! I hope he gets all the credit because he deserves so much!
  4. viniciussawate
    May 8, 2020
    10
    Paramore fans, attention. On Hayley's debut album, you won't find that teen hardcore stamina from Paramore's early career. It's easier toParamore fans, attention. On Hayley's debut album, you won't find that teen hardcore stamina from Paramore's early career. It's easier to approach the solo album with the tracks from the band's last album, especially when Hayley lets out her colorful pop influence from the 1980s and 1990s, like a juice from Madonna and Cindy Lauper. But the predominant tone here is the minimalist sound like The XX and Lorde. The singer allows herself to play with different movements, textures of vocal sounds and, at the time of the chorus, embraces herself tightly in the pop she knows well.… Expand
  5. mattjon233
    May 12, 2020
    10
    Roses lotus violet íris is amazing and my favourite song of this perfect album
  6. MusicSpy
    May 8, 2020
    10
    A perfeição de “Petals for Amor” não apenas consagra Williams como a maior compositora da música alternativa, como também deixa seus fansA perfeição de “Petals for Amor” não apenas consagra Williams como a maior compositora da música alternativa, como também deixa seus fans ansiosos pelo que ainda está por vir com essa nova fase da cantora.… Expand
  7. jptrand
    May 8, 2020
    10
    bruto e polido do início ao fim. hayley williams coloca seu coração em todas as faixas e o resultado é um retrato íntimo do desejo de si e dabruto e polido do início ao fim. hayley williams coloca seu coração em todas as faixas e o resultado é um retrato íntimo do desejo de si e da coragem de viver suas dores e continuar.… Expand
  8. vgmkyle
    May 17, 2020
    0
    Petals for Armor is up there with Childish Gambino in terms of not making any sense at all but the albums are labeled as being lyricalPetals for Armor is up there with Childish Gambino in terms of not making any sense at all but the albums are labeled as being lyrical masterpieces anyway for the dumbest reasons I have heard. I personally can't understand how this music evokes maturity in the artist. I still hear the same Hayley from Paramore but now shes mopey, boring & uninspired. She's also been a very judgmental artist and for what? I don't see the hype and I never will. She was awful and Paramore and she's even worse here.… Expand

See all 131 User Reviews

Related Articles

  1. Best of 2020, Music

    The Freshman 15: 2020's Best Debut Albums

    The Freshman 15: 2020's Best Debut Albums Image
    Published: December 14, 2020
    Which new artists wowed critics this year? We rank the best-reviewed debut albums of 2020 by Metascore.
    More »

Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Best Album of 2020
28
#28 Most Discussed Album of 2020

Current Music Releases

Full List »
99 Band on the Run [50th Anniversary Edition] - Paul McCartney & Wings
95 If I don't make it, I love u - Still House Plants
95 The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow - Charles Lloyd
91 COWBOY CARTER - Beyoncé
91 The Carnegie Hall Concert - Alice Coltrane
90 Iechyd Da - Bill Ryder-Jones
90 This Could Be Texas - English Teacher
89 I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy
89 Tigers Blood - Waxahatchee
89 All Born Screaming - St. Vincent
88 Only God Was Above Us - Vampire Weekend
88 What Now - Brittany Howard
88 Hey Panda - The High Llamas
88 Orquídeas - Kali Uchis
88 The Past Is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff
87 Filthy Underneath - Nadine Shah
87 i/o - Peter Gabriel
87 Blue Lips - ScHoolboy Q
87 Bright Future - Adrianne Lenker
87 Bite Down - Rosali
All Current Music »