Hayley Williams seems to really be enjoying the freedom of life after Atlantic Records. Last year the Paramore frontperson enacted a fun, unconventional rollout for her excellent solo album Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, released on her own pointedly named independent label, Post Atlantic. She's been on a rapturously received tour in support of the album this year, and it's about to evolve into a new production called the Hayley Williams Show for the fall, a variety show of sorts featuring special guests and songs from throughout her solo catalog. Meanwhile, she's been introducing a new musical venture called Power Snatch.
Power Snatch pairs Williams with Daniel James, the producer who worked on her last two solo albums, Ego Death and 2021's Flowers For Vases / Descansos. It seems to be a venue for Williams' more experimental music, and so far it's been operating partially off the grid by major musical artist standards. Their debut EP is only on Bandcamp, and they only have two songs out right now through standard digital channels, debut single "Assignment" and their cover of This Is Lorelei's "Perfect Hand." Now they've shared another snippet of new music on Instagram.
The new Power Snatch song is sort of a trip-hop thing, but Williams' voice is not woozy and distant and mysterious the way I tend to associate with trip-hop. Her singing tends to ground her music in approachable warmth regardless of the genre. "I don't wanna be a machete to a meadow," she sings just before the clip cuts off. The audio is playing behind footage of the influential 1970 Czech New Wave film Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders, which coincidentally The Last Dinner Party just discussed with Stereogum a couple of weeks ago. Watch below.
Three days ago, Williams was announced for the 2027 edition of Noah Kahan's annual Cancun festival Out Of The Blue. Kahan was a surprise guest at Williams' Nashville tour stop in April.
