If each of the videos for Hayley Williams’s new songs exists in a shared universe, she’s gone from running naked in the woods and being pursued through a dark house, to being clothed in the woods and turning into a bird in a bright house, and now, for her latest solo single, she is safely out of the woods but being chased once again. It’s a harrowing time for Hayley, whose new album, Petals For Armor, will arrive May 8. “Cinnamon†is the most overtly pop song of the new material — it’s a little faster, a little dancier — she’s given us so far, all of which has been … really great. In his review of her first song, “Simmer,†Vulture’s Craig Jenkins said her solo debut was “worth the 15 year wait,†and after three sample tracks — which are part of a pre-album release called Petals For Armor I — that is really just being reaffirmed.
The five-track Armor I is available for download now, and she’s posted audio for its other two songs, “Creepin’†and “Sudden Desireâ€, on YouTube today along with the “Cinnamon†video. Also! There are interstitial clips you could have been watching this whole time that tie together the three-part narrative of her new music videos. Happy Hayley Day, everyone.