Flowers for Vases/descansos
by Hayley Williams
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Feb 5, 2021
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Kerrang!
    Feb 5, 2021
    60
    FLOWERS for VASES / descansos continues what Petals For Armor started in showing just how much of Hayley Williams we still have to get to know as an artist. The Paramore question mark continues to hover, but here Hayley has once again shown that there’s more to her than one band.

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Most Discussed Album of 2021

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 190 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 168 out of 190
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 190
  3. Negative: 15 out of 190
  1. Skydog
    Feb 8, 2021
    1
    One of the worst follow-up albums I've heard from an artist in about 15 years. Talk about a major letdown.

    Pros: - Production is actually    One of the worst follow-up albums I've heard from an artist in about 15 years. Talk about a major letdown.

    Pros:
    - Production is actually not bad considering most of this was recorded in a home studio. I did get a slight chuckle at the airplane driveby outtake that she kept on the album. I've been there.

    - Lyricalism is still quite strong. Some areas do slack and just aren't as metaphoric this time around.

    Cons:

    - Way too many ballads on one album. Very boring and repetitious. And what's even worse is that most of ballads are forgettable.

    - Vocals don't branch off much at all. They stay within the same range for most of the album.

    - Including an instrumental [which I usually do love on albums] that is redundant and doesn't try to branch off and be unique. (A small piano solo or something would have made it more interesting.) Boring.    … Full Review »
  2. JLuis_001
    Feb 5, 2021
    7
    Hayley Wiliams' first solo album, at the time received a lot of flattering reviews that surprised me quite a bit.

    I wouldn't say that    Hayley Wiliams' first solo album, at the time received a lot of flattering reviews that surprised me quite a bit.

    I wouldn't say that Petals for Armor was a bad album, but personally I believed it was an album that sought to reach for more than its sound could provide.

    Especially since many people preferred to pay more attention to the lyrics.

    FLOWERS for VASES / descansos is a surprise album, both because of its sudden release and because Williams shows a more mature side as a songwriter that she couldn't reach in her predecessor.

    This is basically an acoustic album. The arrangements are minimal and in some cases the finished tracks even sound like demos.
    It's a more ethereal and organic experience, and therefore more pleasant.

    Hayley herself said that she was preparing her own ''folklore'' and it's quite evident that she was influenced by Taylor Swift, although both approaches are definitely different, they both share an indie vein.

    The album loses strength in the last tracks after the middle, but the closing is good.
    Although personally I think she should have arranged the tracklist and closed with "Descansos". The most ghostly and ambient track of them all.

    Notable Tracks

    > First Thing To Go
    > Asystole
    > Over Those Hills
    > KYRH
    > Descansos
    > Just A Lover    … Full Review »
  3. MeganStall
    Nov 7, 2022
    10
    such a beautiful breathe of fresh air. this album is beautiful; i only wish there were mroe visuals
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