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Not many bands decide to an idea for greater than an album marketing campaign. Not often do they spend a decade crafting characters, settings and interconnected narratives. However Twenty One Pilots have at all times been devoted to their lore, and the story they started to inform on 2015’s Blurryface now involves a detailed on their newest outing, Clancy. Named for the principle protagonist of 2018’s Trench, Clancy is conceptually elaborate and filled with easter eggs that may delight their hardcore followers – however the music itself doesn’t at all times reside as much as the band’s lofty ambitions.
Twenty One Pilots took the world by storm within the 2010s with their modern mixture of hip-hop, pop and rock paired with stark, susceptible lyrics that centre on nervousness and despair, heralding a brand new period of different music that earned them a cult following. Such is their standing now, that opinions of Clancy have been strictly embargoed till the album hit streaming companies on Might 24, suggesting that their return needs to be seen as An Occasion. On the outset of Clancy, they channel their early innovation into two heavy hitters proper off the bat. Overcompensate is punchy and chaotic, a multilingual reintroduction to the world of Trench, the fictional setting of our story. These references will go straight over the heads of outsiders, however followers who’ve adopted the journey will take pleasure in choosing aside the lore.
The true spotlight of the album follows with Subsequent Semester, an anthemic rocker that looks like a panic assault in musical type. It depicts each the merciless actuality of psychological sickness in addition to the optimistic want to get higher, a theme that has been central in Tyler Joseph’s songwriting. There are hints of My Chemical Romance within the observe’s heavier moments, earlier than fading into an acoustic conclusion.
Sadly, there are only some extra songs on the album apart from this opening pair that go away a long-lasting impression. As an alternative, there are songs like Backslide and Snap Again which might have felt at dwelling in an earlier album however which, on the entire, come off as stale and outdated in 2024. Lavish is a cynical view of the music business, however lyrics reminiscent of “Sip a Capri Solar prefer it’s Dom Perignon” fall flat beside titans like Subsequent Semester.
Later, the highly effective message of Oldies Station fails to reside as much as its potential. Its putting, constructive recommendation to “When darkness rolls on you / Push on by way of, push on by way of” will get misplaced amongst the heavy hitters on Clancy and lacks the sonic punch to offer these lyrics the platform they deserve.
Elsewhere, they get extra artistic with their pop affect on the high-energy Midwest Indigo, destined to be a fan-favourite from Clancy. Navigating exists in the identical catchy pop-influenced vein, combining retro synth with heavier drums to inject contemporary power into the second half of the album. On the midpoint of the album, Vignette’s string intro is a welcome change of tempo and showcases among the best vocal performances of the file. Equally, the sunshine, acoustic The Craving (Jenna’s Model) reminds us of Twenty One Pilots’ trademark genre-spanning abilities.
Clancy is at instances a really sturdy outing for Twenty One Pilots. Nevertheless, they falter the place they fall again into outdated habits as a substitute of embracing the album’s extra modern moments. It’s a refreshing step ahead following Scaled and Icy that may enchantment to diehard followers, nevertheless it usually fails to ship on its promise.
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