Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party – Hayley Williams

Hayley Williams has emerged with an incredible third solo album, trading refinement for raw experimentation and unabashed volatility. Released on August 28th, the Paramore frontwoman’s latest project marks her boldest reinvention yet. The Mic’s Ben Dale reports.

The Original Cover of Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

In late July 2025, fans of Paramore frantically exchanged the password for Hayley Williams’ website following rumours of new solo tracks from the Paramore frontwoman. What greeted them was a homepage reminiscent of old Windows 98 desktop screens, with 17 songs available to play in whichever order they choose. A few days later, these songs became available on streaming services with sequencing somewhat reflecting a ‘choose-your-own’ adventure format, where fan made track lists served to influence the final project. This experiment in collective authorship would evolve into Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, Williams’ third studio album, released August 28th, 2025.

Previous solo ventures from Hayley Williams saw her inviting us into a meticulously crafted universe characterised by sleek, experimental pop in 2020’s Petals for Armor, and stripped-back folk confessionals in 2021’s FLOWERS FOR VASES / Descansos. Where these albums felt cohesive and polished in vision, EDAABP thrives on its disarray. Its 18 tracks (including ‘Parachute’, the previously unreleased album closer) meander through influences from 90s rock, reminiscent of The Cardigans or The Breeders, to the post-punk of the 2000s, all the way to a damning interpolation of funky synth-pop hit ‘The Bad Touch’ by The Bloodhound Gang. Consequently, EDAABP feels much more like a scrapbook than a studio album — with its influences mirroring Williams’ shifting inner landscape.

Parachute Official Music Video

The record sees Hayley Williams reuniting with past collaborator Daniel James, co-producer of her first album Petals for Armor, but their work here trades precision for volatility, letting the rough edges speak for themselves. Opening the album with the brusque ‘Ice In My OJ’ was nothing short of a bold choice, with Williams becoming increasingly exasperated as she shouts “I’m in a band!” at the label managers who made her life difficult during Paramore’s early years. The song features a re-recording of the Mammoth City Messengers song ‘Jumping Inside’ — notably Williams’ first recorded appearance from 2004 — transforming what once marked the start of her career into a snarling act of reclamation.

As the album’s narrative unravels, it becomes increasingly tainted by heartbreak, loss, and trauma. ‘Kill Me’ reads as a plea to stop the cycle of generational trauma, with Williams chanting “Go ahead and kill me, can’t get much stronger” over a brooding instrumental. A dark twist on the popular phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’, the track frames strength not as resilience but rather exhaustion. On ‘Negative Self Talk’ Williams turns inwards, wrestling with intrusive thoughts and invoking Russian fairytale character Vasalisa the Beautiful as inspiration to break from that cycle. Grizzly guitar anthem ‘Mirtazapine’ serves as a love letter to anti-depressants, while ‘Hard’ captures the defensive armour built after a lifetime of letdowns.

EDAABP feels much more like a scrapbook than a studio album — with its influences mirroring Williams’ shifting inner landscape.

The title track ‘Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party’ gestures towards Williams’ conflicting feelings towards her hometown of Nashville, yet it’s standout track ‘True Believer’ that delivers the most searing critique. On the track, Williams explores the gentrification of the city, exposing how capitalist greed and entrenched racism have corroded the place she calls home. The song leaves behind a hollowed-out version of Nashville, but lines such as “I’m the one who still loves your ghost / I’ll reanimate your bones with my belief” contain fragments of optimism that, despite the diminished spirit of the city, still evoke chance for redemption. This glimmer of hope rings true through other points in the album, surfacing in moments where tenderness softens the darker edges. The glittery guitars of ‘Whim’ let the vocals glide through the chorus, offering a weightless kind of reprieve. The cascading synths of ‘Love Me Different’ feel like a call back to Paramore’s 2017 album After Laughter yet stripped of its ironic detachment. While also featuring possibly the most impressive vocal performance on the album, here Williams finds solace in loving oneself — lines such as “Guess I’m the one who’s gotta love me differently” land with startling clarity. It’s a moment of unguarded sincerity that reframes the record’s chaos, suggesting that self-acceptance can still take root amid all the grief and anger.

18 songs may seem a little heavy on paper, and while the album suffers slightly in its pacing, the sheer sprawl is part of its charm. EDAABP embraces its excess, thriving on tonal shifts and jagged transitions that would feel out of place on a more tightly managed record. Williams’ refusal to conform to the static confines of what an album should be transforms the chaos into a kind of liberation. Each track has its own personality, resulting in an immersive listening experience which lets fans navigate Williams’ own struggles as well as her feelings towards the world around her. In that sense, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party resembles a living document of trauma and heartbreak, as well as survival and self-discovery. It may not be the most cohesive project in Williams’ discography, but it’s undoubtedly her most daring. Twenty years into her career she’s refusing to play by the rules, and in doing so has created an album as unruly and alive as the people who will see themselves in it.

Ben Dale

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Edited by Daniela Roux

Track cover photo courtesy of Hayley Williams, YouTube video courtesy of Hayley Williams