Paramore Release Video 'The Only Exception'

In coincidence with Valentine's Day, the alternative rock band Paramore bring in love theme video for their slow-burning torch jam "The Only Exception," on their official Web site last Wednesday, was directed by photographer Brandon Branches, director of "The Final Riot!" live tour album DVD. Paramore have been steadily evolving since their breakout album "Riot!" dropped in 2007. On their latest album, "Brand New Eyes," their sound grows in multiple directions. It's cliche, but true: You don't know what you've got until it's gone. Paramore drive that point home for album' third single "The Only Exception," the first ballad the band has ever released as a single. The newest video for song is by far the most visually interesting and complex clip the group has ever produced, features fan submitted Valentine's Day cards, and sees the band exploring narrative in a way they never have before.
This Valentine's Day-themed music video focuses on vocalist Hayley Williams when she tries to find her true love. The video opens with singer Williams waking up on a couch next to a guy and writing a note that says "I'm sorry." From there she walks to the next room and hugs a guy who, based on the lyrics, is probably meant to be her father. The video continues with Williams in her room staring into the mirror, singing about how love doesn't exist. She then moves through a costume closet and into a restaurant set, where a rotating cast of guys pose as her date. In a cool transition, she moves into the next room, where there's a wedding. Everyone there is wearing white, but Williams comes dressed in black.
She flees the scene when the bride enters. During the chorus, the clip cuts to the coolest scene in the whole video: Williams sings ("Darling, you are the only exception") while lying down on a giant pile of homemade Valentine's Day cards. According to Williams' Twitter, the cards were solicited by the band and sent in by fans. In the video's final moments, Williams spots her dream guy in the crowd at a rock show, fantasizes about them together and makes her way back through the various rooms to the original set. She returns to the couch where dream guy is still asleep.
This soulful acoustic number is a heartfelt song about love. Inspired by frontwoman Williams' own heart-breaking experience with her parents' divorce, the clip shows how hard Williams fights love because, as she sings in the swelling ballad, "I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance and up until now, I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness." "The Only Exception" is Paramore's most ambitious and mature video yet, matching its action to the advanced sentiment of the lyrics, which paint Williams as a cynic who doesn't believe in love but is willing to make an exception for the right person. It's another win for a band that just keeps coming up victorious.