Zac Farro has spent years drumming in Paramore and putting out music with his side project halfnoise, releasing the J-pop-inspired City Talk in 2023. Today, he’s announced the first album under his own name, Operator, which arrives July 18 via his label Congrats Records.
Farro made the album with close friends Josh Gilligan and Chancey Pierce in Nashville — a scene he’s deeply embedded in and supports with his indie label, from Elke to Hayley Williams’ grandfather Rusty. Unlike past projects, he didn’t enter the sessions with a theme in mind but came out with a raw collection of songs that explore anxiety, family, and communication ills. “We said, let’s show up at the studio and see what happens,” he says. “I’ve always had such a vision, even sometimes the name of an album, before I go in. This one was like, ‘If we’re together, the magic will reveal itself.’ And it did.”
Read more: Yellowcard and Travis Barker are breaking the mold
The first preview, “My My,” is another slick pivot in sound, embracing country-folk to detail the emotional toil of a family member’s sickness. Of the single, Farro adds, “‘My My’ is a personal song about witnessing a loved one try to let go of someone they care for deeply. That kind of silent pain. This song holds a lot of weight and captures those moments of reflection and processing that run throughout the album.”
Listen to “My My” below.
Zac Farro – Operator tracklist
- “Operator”
- “Second Chance”
- “1”
- “Simple Actions”
- “My My”
- “Gold Days”
- “All I Really Want Now”
- “Sunday Driving”
- “I Need You”