Paramore are a genre-hopping band who have a lot of credibility and gain a lot of support from “Kerrang-ers” but realistically, they are just typical pop rock which definitely isn’t a bad thing. When it comes to their ballads, they do a pretty good job at them. Franklin, When It Rains and We Are Broken are three very good ballads and three of their best songs so when we heard their latest album Brand New Eyes last year, it was no surprise to come across another ballad to add to the former three.

The Only Exception is an acoustic ballad and the stand out track from Brand New Eyes. It’s about time that one of Paramore’s best songs is getting a single release. The vocal from lead singer Hayley Williams is delivered really well as always but also shows hints of Avril Lavigne at times. While the chorus is quite repetitive, the vocal makes it interesting. The way Hayley sings the words “you” and “are” right after each other, but in different octaves, sounds a bit shocking on first listen but soon becomes one of the best things about the song.

The best part of the song is the middle 8 and the added lyric in the final chorus.

I’ve got a tight grip on reality but I can’t
Let go of what’s in front of me here
I know you’re leaving in the morning when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof it’s not a dream
…
You are the only exception
And I’m on my way to believing

The middle 8 is the most “Avril” sounding moment of the song and sounds similar to the middle 8’s in both How Does It Feel and Fall To Pieces. The Only Exception wouldn’t sound out of place on Avril’s Under My Skin but it does sound out of place on Paramore’s Brand New Eyes in between much heavier tracks.

The video premiered on February 14th and fits the song perfectly by acting out the lyrics which gives the video a good storyline instead of just a performance of the song. You can check it out below:

The Only Exception is set for release on April 19th through Fueled by Ramen.