Paramore Transform into Fake Happy Newscasters in Retro New Video for “Rose-Colored Boy”

Since the release of last year’s After Laughter, a retro, poppy, intensely personal and emotionally nuanced breath of fresh air (and among our favorite national and Nashville releases last year), local rock outfit Paramore have entered into something of a new chapter, bouncing back from an internal near-collapse to rediscover their kinship, artistic identity, and local roots in a healthier and more profound way than we’ve seen since their earliest days.

As they continue to embark on a whirlwind of worldwide tour dates, which, last year, included both an intimate comeback show at Exit/In and a stunning homecoming at The Ryman, and ahead of their inaugural performance at this summer’s Bonnaroo, the band have found time this week to drop yet another great new music video. Following the retro and whimsical introductory spot for “Hard Times,” the moody, stylish, and locally shot “Told You So,” and emotional, intimate, and gorgeous late 2017 Zac Farro-helmed “Fake Happy,” the group push forward into 2018 with a new video for their latest single “Rose-Colored Boy,” directed by Warren Fu (The Strokes, HAIM, Phoenix, Weezer).

While, at its surface, the video appears somewhat lighthearted, portraying the band as newscasters on a fictional 1980s morning show, it, like the LP, embodies the notion of putting on a shiny, “fake happy” exterior despite battling internal and external struggles. “Rose-Colored Boy,” without a doubt one of After Laughter‘s strongest points, in fact feels like a fitting thesis statement for the theme of the whole record in of itself, and the choice of centering the video around newscasters works especially well, since they, moreso than most personalities and entertainers, are expected to do their job with a smile and project a sense of happiness, false or otherwise.

In this era of their career, Paramore, seemingly as uninhibited as they’ve ever been, have really found a wonderful duality in crafting nostalgic, poppy, and dance-primed songs with an emotional, earnest, and sad undercurrent, and while their first couple of videos channeled more of the happy and artsy side and “Fake Happy” got a lot more real and emotional, “Rose-Colored Boy” captures a perfect balance between both, with moments of fun and funny (the Bill O’Reilly dig is especially hilarious) with a melancholy and dark humor that builds as the video becomes increasingly surreal, then finally gives way to a performance. Watch it below!