Twenty One Pilots, an alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio, released their eighth studio album Breach. It’s a beautiful album that perfectly combines the sounds of all the band’s previous works.
The band is comprised of two men: Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. The duo’s first studio album, Twenty One Pilots, came out in 2011, but the band gained notoriety when their song “Stressed Out” was released in 2015. Breach concludes the ten-year story the duo has been telling since their 2015 album Blurryface.
When Breach was announced on May 21, the band had just finished The Clancy Tour a week prior. During the album’s rollout, the band released two singles: “The Contract” and “Drum Show.”
Del Val freshman Addison Ramberg had predictions surrounding the albums sound.
“[I think it will sound] heartbreaking yet beautiful,” Ramberg said.
The album was released on Sept. 12 at midnight, with many eager listeners staying up to hear it. The album’s first track, “City Walls,” had 46,000 people watching the YouTube premiere. The album was full of great songs, but there were some standouts.
“RAWFEAR” is a simple song about how life doesn’t stop when facing hardship. The track is a reminder that no matter how hard we try to build tolerance and avoid our problems, we have to face them. It’s a happy, upbeat melody with depressing lyrics. It sounds very reminiscent of Scaled and Icy, one of the band’s previous albums.
After the release, Ramberg revealed her favorite song was RAWFEAR.
“It has beautiful lyrics, and I love the beat,” Ramberg said.
“Downstairs” is a song about repression. The song is slow, with loud drums and a relaxing piano that turns violent before dissipating. The song ends in a quiet refrain about doubting the process of faith and belief. “I’m beggin’ / Oh-oh-oh, mercy” is a repeated sentiment screamed in the song. The song sounds strange yet beautiful.
“Days Lie Dormant” is an aggressive but upbeat song about wanting to do things, but not being able to afford the time or energy to do it without a specified person. The message of the song can be reduced to one lyric: “To waste my time inside a place you’re not / Don’t make me waste my love / It’s everything I got”. The song has a happy sound, which is reminiscent of Midwest Indigo, another song by the band. The bridge is a nice break from the synthetic sounds of the rest of the album; it’s piano and drum heavy. “Days Lie Dormant” is my favorite track on the album.
“Intentions” is the end of a cycle. It’s a song with only vocals and piano, the emphasis of the song is the message. “Intentions will set you free / Just try to be” When a cycle ends, the only thing that has changed is you. You are back where you started, but where you go with the knowledge you have gained determines if the cycle repeats. Maybe you go back, you repeat the cycle, but having the intention to get better is the first step in getting better.
Twenty One Pilots has made a strong impact on the world around them.
“They made me feel seen as a kid, especially when I felt different,” Ramberg said.
While Breach is a testament to the unique sound and inspiring lyrics, Breach is also the end of an era for the duo. The band announced their plans to go on an indefinite hiatus when The Clancy Tour: Breach concludes.
“Other than maybe some festivals, it will be the first time in our career we won’t know when we will tour again,” Joseph, the band’s frontman, said in an Instagram post.
Twenty One Pilots is no stranger to releasing albums that stick with the listener. Breach is no exception. While we don’t know if they will ever drop another album, for now, we can look at Breach as the perfect ending to the perfect band.
