The 17 singles Hayley Williams released earlier this month have lived in distinct formats across thousands of playlists created by fans. Shaping their own structure around the loose records, some opened their tracklist with the gritty “Hard,” while others opted to start on a lighter note with the bouncing “Love Me Different.” Now, they can all cross-reference with the official order as Williams reveals Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, the complete album in its intended order (with some inspiration from her fans).
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party opens with “Ice in my OJ,” where she sets any speculation to rest as she chants: “I’m in a band, I’m in a band.” It closes out with the committed promise of “I Won’t Quit on You.” The record marks Williams’ third full-length LP as a solo artist outside of Paramore. Her debut Petals for Armor arrived in 2020 and was followed by Flowers for Vases / Descansos in 2021. The new album closes with the previously unreleased track “Parachute.”
“I really did want to shirk the responsibility,” Williams told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the initial release of each individual song. “I was kind of interested in other people’s perspective, also because there’s just a point where you’re in the eye of that storm — like you’re making things, you’re going through shit, and you can’t possibly have perspective. So it’s been really interesting.”
Williams shares Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party via Post Atlantic, the venture under which she self-released the album as her first offering since completing her contract with Atlantic Records after 20 years. “I’m a freer artist today than I was then because of not being on a label. I never really imagined what this phase of my career might feel like,” she added. “I think maybe I thought it would be over by the time I got here.”
She recruited producer Daniel James as her primary collaborator, with additional appearances from Brian Robert Jones and Joey Howard, plus Jim-E Stack on “True Believer.” Williams helmed writing across the record and shaped the sound of each song with her own instrumental arrangements.
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“Regardless what is going on in the band member’s personal lives, it’s abundantly clear that Williams has entered a new groove in her solo work,” Rolling Stone wrote in a breakdown of the song collection. “Never has she sounded more certain with a sonic landscape that is all her own.”
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party Tracklist
1. “Ice In My OJ”
2. “Glum”
3. “Kill Me”
4. “Whim”
5. “Mirtazapine”
6. “Disappearing Man”
7. “Love Me Different”
8. “Brotherly Hate”
9. “Negative Self Talk”
10. “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party”
11. “Hard”
12. “Discovery Channel”
13. “True Believer”
14. “Zissou”
15. “Dream Girl In Shibuya”
16. “Blood Bros”
17. “I Won’t Quit On You”
18. “Parachute”
