During the second week of quarantine, over Skype Hayley Williams talked to Nylon about Petals for Armor. Betweeen talking about her upcoming studio album they talked about present, past and future.

“It was truly a need to create with people that I was comfortable with in new ways that weren’t always comfortable,” she says about working on new music. “The coolest part was that I hadn’t had that feeling since I was 15 or 16. Not to say I haven’t enjoyed writing Paramore records [since], [but when] we were kids, we just did it because there was nothing else to do. It’s nice to get that as an adult, because I think we rarely remember how to just play.”

“I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll just create a pseudonym and put it out on Spotify just to feel the release of it,’” she says. “I wasn’t ready [to have my name on it]. A lot of my friends call me H, and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll put it out as H.’” Luckily Taylor York convinced her that she should release it under her real name. Click here to read the interview and see more photos taken by Lindsey Byrnes.

“I’ve never had people take photos of me the way that she does,” Williams says of Byrnes. “And also, she’s such a good human. Talking to her about anything, whether it’s what’s going on right now in the world or my anxiety or her things — I really need that camaraderie and true friendship in my creative endeavors. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

“Kristen Stewart was going to direct the video for ‘Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris,’” Williams says. “She wrote the most beautiful treatment that I’d ever seen; I was floored. She’s a fabulous writer.” As we know the video didn’t happen. ”Maybe it’ll still happen,” Williams says. “Maybe at the end of all this, that’s what I’ll get to do.”

“Now I’m kinda like, ‘Well thank God I didn’t drop everything at one time because I need something to do every day.’ I’m trying to figure out a way to stay creative and inventive and connect to people about music.”

“I’ve been perfectly split between being so excited about seeing Paramore fans again, and then I’ve also been terrified,” she says. “I’m going to be on stage and when I turn around, Taylor and Zac are not gonna be there.” Even though the future of the tour is uncertain, Hayley is still working on tour visuals and set lists, which she says will feature covers of songs she loves. “I think the only way to make [this release] work for fans is to be super transparent and be like, ‘I’m figuring this out right now,’” she says. “That’s the thing I’m so grateful for. And maybe some really beautiful things will come out of it.”