As I mentioned when Twenty One Pilots released the first single from Breach, it felt like Clancy had just been released. And it practically was! At only a year and a half, Breach has been released to the masses, and I am certainly not one to complain. Especially now that I’m used to these K-pop groups releasing EPs every six months!
But instead of maybe four to six songs, Twenty One Pilots have blessed us with thirteen (or fourteen to those listening to digital), and I am not convinced that they didn’t have this album at least partially complete by the time Clancy dropped. How else can you release this many songs off the back of a huge tour in such little time? Make it make sense. Anyway, all in all, the band have released another pretty high quality album, one that I’m sure will be repeated for years and years to come. However, knowing that this is the end of a “lore” makes me a little nervous to hear what comes next, but I guess I really don’t doubt that it won’t be good.
The two singles we got prior to the release, “The Contract” and “Drum Show,” were honestly both songs that grew on me. A first listen of “The Contract” was actually quite forgettable, especially if I’m comparing it to “Overcompensate.” But alas, the second and third listens solidified the song’s greatness. While “Drum Show” was definitely more memorable the first time around, I wasn’t too sold on the style. I did really enjoy the heavy turn the third act presented, but upon another listen I realized how similar stylistically it was to Clancy as a a whole. Another banger!
For me, this album wasn’t really a home run. There are tracks I absolutely love, some that are middle of the road, and a couple that made me want to rip my headphones out of my ears. Still, overall, it was a strong way to end this partiular chapter of their career. So, to those of you that loved “Cottonwood” and “Intentions,” I cannot share the same sentiment. Even though I learned that the latter is tied to Vessel as the inverse of “Truce,” that still wasn’t enough to redeem it for me. Also, I don’t really like “Truce” either. Sorry not sorry.
But for those two stinkers, there were plenty of winners! Take for instance my favorite song off the record, “RAWFEAR.” How freaking catchy is this song?! It sounds as if Cage the Elephant and Wallows got together to make a song. Perfect. I also can’t sleep on how slick the transition is between this song and “Garbage.” If you’re a midwesterner, surely you can relate to the repeated lyric “I feel like garbage.” I know I do. And for whatever reason the air drumming I did for this song was at a peak. Finally, “City Walls” is truly a terrific opening track (though maybe not ever as good as “Overcompensate”), and even though it’s a long one, the journey through it is really engaging. For me, this one had the most obvious call backs to Vessel, which is my favorite record of theirs, so clearly I was happy with the relation.
I think this album starts and ends quite differently, especially from a tonal perspective. The first half has almost a dystopian feel to it, and then somewhere in the middle it transitions to something decidedly more upbeat and positive. Lyrically, I haven’t mastered what’s going on, so the whole thing could be equally dark, but from a sound perspective I can appreciate the switch-up. Is this my favorite work from Twenty One Pilots? No, but it is still a really strong entry in their discography. Well done boys!