No longer many bands decide to an idea for greater than an album marketing campaign. Hardly ever 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 tale they started to inform on 2015’s Blurryface now involves an in depth on their newest day trip, Clancy. Named for the primary protagonist of 2018’s Trench, Clancy is conceptually elaborate and full of easter eggs that may satisfaction their hardcore enthusiasts – however the song itself doesn’t at all times reside as much as the band’s lofty ambitions.
Twenty One Pilots took the sector via hurricane within the 2010s with their leading edge mixture of hip-hop, pop and rock paired with stark, inclined lyrics that centre on nervousness and despair, heralding a brand new technology of different song that earned them a cult following. Such is their standing now, that opinions of Clancy have been strictly embargoed till the album hit streaming services and products on Might 24, suggesting that their go back will have to be noticed as An Tournament. 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 sector of Trench, the fictitious atmosphere of our story. Those references will pass instantly over the heads of outsiders, however enthusiasts who’ve adopted the adventure will revel in choosing aside the lore.
The actual spotlight of the album follows with Subsequent Semester, an anthemic rocker that seems like a panic assault in musical shape. It depicts each the harsh truth of psychological sickness in addition to the constructive want to get well, 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 just a few extra songs at the album with the exception of this opening pair that go away an enduring affect. As an alternative, there are songs like Backslide and Snap Again which might have felt at house in an previous album however which, at the complete, come off as stale and old-fashioned in 2024. Lavish is a cynical view of the song business, however lyrics akin to “Sip a Capri Solar find it irresistible’s Dom Perignon” fall flat beside titans like Subsequent Semester.
Later, the tough message of Oldies Station fails to reside as much as its attainable. Its hanging, certain recommendation to “When darkness rolls on you / Push on thru, push on thru” will get misplaced among the heavy hitters on Clancy and lacks the sonic punch to offer those lyrics the platform they deserve.
In different places, they get extra inventive with their pop affect at the high-energy Midwest Indigo, destined to be a fan-favourite from Clancy. Navigating exists in the similar catchy pop-influenced vein, combining unfashionable synth with heavier drums to inject contemporary calories into the second one part of the album. On the midpoint of the album, Vignette’s string intro is a welcome alternate of tempo and showcases some of the easiest vocal performances of the document. In a similar way, the sunshine, acoustic The Yearning (Jenna’s Model) reminds us of Twenty One Pilots’ trademark genre-spanning talents.
Clancy is every now and then an excessively robust day trip for Twenty One Pilots. Then again, they falter the place they fall again into outdated behavior as an alternative of embracing the album’s extra leading edge moments. It’s a refreshing step ahead following Scaled and Icy that may enchantment to diehard enthusiasts, however it continuously fails to ship on its promise.
