"Caught in the Middle" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...

. It was released on June 26, 2018 through Fueled by Ramen as the fifth and final single off their fifth studio album ''

After Laughter ''After Laughter'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Paramore. It was released on May 12, 2017, through Fueled by Ramen, as a follow-up to their 2013 Paramore (album), self-titled album. ''After Laughter'' was produced by guit ...

'' (2017). The track was co-written by lead vocalist

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the rock band Paramore, which she co-founded in 2004. Williams was born and raised in Meridian, Miss ...

and guitarist

Taylor York Taylor Benjamin York (born December 17, 1989) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist for the rock band Paramore. Biography York was born the youngest of three boys on December 17, 1989, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. His ...

, and recorded in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Composition

The genre of "Caught in the Middle" has been described as

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

, new wave,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

. It contains bouncing drums and bass from band members York and Farro, and has been compared sonically to the early work of American rock band

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...

Music video

The music video for "Caught in the Middle" was released on June 26, 2018, and was directed by Computer Team, who worked with the band on previous videos from ''

''. The video features the band dancing on oranges, and trying to evade various other fruits. This video was intentionally made in

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

-quality. The visuals are an homage to

A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

's music video for "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. * Kevin "K-Bo" Boettger – assistant engineer *

Dave Cooley Dave Cooley (David J. Cooley) is an American mastering engineer and audio restoration specialist. His numerous mastering credits include J Dilla's ''Donuts'' and '' The Diary'', Paramore's ''After Laughter'', 40th anniversary release of Bob Marl ...

– mastering engineer *

Carlos de la Garza Captain Carlos de la Garza (1807–1882), also known as "Don Carlos," was a fourth generation Tejano rancher and entrepreneur in Goliad, Victoria and Refugio counties of Texas. His participation in the Mexican Army leading to the Battle of Col ...

– mixer, engineer *

Zac Farro Zachary Wayne Farro (born June 4, 1990) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Paramore. He is the younger brother of Josh Farro, who is Paramore's former lead guitarist and backing vocalist. After he and his broth ...

– drums, bells, keyboards, percussion, background vocals *

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, St. Vincent, Wolf Alice, and Deafheave ...

– producer, engineer, bass guitar, keyboards, programming * Mike Schuppan – engineer, additional mixer * Hayley Williams – vocals, keyboards, percussion, background vocals * Taylor York – producer, additional mixer, engineer, guitar, keyboards,

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, percussion, programming, background vocals

References

{{authority control Songs written by Hayley Williams 2017 songs Songs written by Taylor York Songs about depression Paramore songs American new wave songs American synth-pop songs Ska songs American reggae songs