[5] On June 8, 2016, the band posted a short video of themselves in a studio to their social media,[6] the same month the album recording started.

[44] Similarly, Billboard's Chris Payne described it as an "early '80s new wave" album, as well as calling the songs on After Laughter "slick, sun-kissed alternative pop".

The sound is crisp, every layer discernible, lacking the blurs and reverberations that constitute traditional rock production and instead drawing from the rhythmic separations that characterize '80s pop and freestyle.

"[46] Glenn Gamboa from Newsday stated that the band is "pushing deeper into their own pop-rock world," and that the album has "the candy-colored energy of '80s pop built on sleek synths and spiky, Afrobeat-tinged guitars.

"[47] Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombal categorized the album a "piece of '80s pop-rock," stating "York focuses his inspirations the styles of 1980s rock and pop, conjuring a slicked-back take on fixtures like Talking Heads, Paul Simon, and the Bangles.

[51] Eve Barlow from Variety observed "...these tunes builds upon the more ambitious, experimental sounds of radio stalker "Ain't It Fun" off their previous, self-titled LP, leaning on their crossover success.

[54] Similarly, The Guardian called the album a "vibrant record, a contrast to its lyrical themes, which cover masking misery, spiralling depression and the anxiety of ageing, only with a knowing wink.

"[47] Billboard said "Williams sings about the act of crying on no less than five songs, and there are numerous moments where she could be addressing the unfriendly exit and subsequent legal entanglements of former bassist Jeremy Davis.

"[43] Spin said the album "observes a different aspect of the subject of survival: the emptiness and pointlessness, and how often it fails to alter the indifferent universe that surrounds and requires it.

[42][48][56] "Rose-Colored Boy" is a synth-pop song that Rolling Stone compared to Cupid & Psyche 85 by pop group Scritti Politti.

[26][60][61] "Forgiveness" is a "dreamy power ballad" which features "sassy handclaps and hairflicks", which has been compared to pop rock bands Heart, Fleetwood Mac and Haim.

[54][46][57] The seventh track "Pool", described as "aqueous" and "bouncy", is a new wave song that "bathes Williams' voice in crystalline distortion" and "shimmers like a mirage on a blazing day.

Instead, Aaron Weiss from MewithoutYou is on the vocals, delivering a spoken word monologue buried in a cacophony of York and Farro's dark inversions of the "Idle Worship" riff.

"[43][48][65] The album closes with "Tell Me How", a tender piano ballad which features a "vaguely tropical pulse and warily confessional words" that allows Williams' voice to curl around and into expressions of anxiety that sound impossible to quiet.

[69] Matt Collar at AllMusic commented that "much credit here goes to York, who co-wrote all of the songs and whose deft guitar and keyboard make up much of the album's distinct aural character.

"[42] Brice Ezell of Consequence stated "Colorful instrumentation and insistent hooks overpower the uneven parts of the band's fifth studio outing".

Ms. Williams and her bandmates, Zac Farro and Taylor York have remade themselves into a 1980s pop-rock outfit: tinny digital percussion, synthesizers and mostly constrained, saccharine singing from Ms.

"[75] Iiana Kaplan of Paste said After Laughter is "an undeniably hooky record that strays from its grunge-rock roots and finds the band in a place where they've found the fun in their craft once again."

Kaplan also stated that the Williams people love is still around, while noting "Once immersed in the pop-heavy album that is After Laughter, it becomes clear that the less angsty outlook of Paramore is something only surface-level.

If you look beneath, it shows Williams battling with herself to make amends ("Forgiveness", "Caught In The Middle") and put on a front to the public ("Fake Happy").

"[44] Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombal described it as the band's most "fizzy" album, adding that it "highlights Williams' most existentially despondent musings to date.

[65] Patrick Ryan writing for USA Today noted that "Paramore is clearly aiming for more radio-friendly music here, but their deceptively moving lyrics and audacious fusing of genres is what makes it such a rewarding listen.

"[72] In a fifth anniversary retrospective review of the album, Yasmine Summan from Alternative Press considered it to be a "saving grace" for the band, and stated "Right now there might not be a Paramore as we know it, but with Zac's return, York's incredible talents and Williams having a place to confront her emotions, this album not only earns its acclaim for its chart-topping successes but is as crucial to the band's growth as Riot!