Entertainment issue featuring Alan Walker and HYDE from legendary Japanese rock group L'Arc-en-Ciel.
Tyler Joseph captures the sheer essence of the musical duet's voyage which is laced with mental health intricacies and personal growth. The song that is also a part of the seventh album in the band's memorable discography makes it even more important because it mulls over the victories and defeats of our lives, which only makes the already very influential sets of music much more important for the musical menu. It is an album that marks an unmistakable presence which a lot of the band's followers had missed during the time period of their last release.
The opening from "Holding On To You," where he ponders the self- reflective times one tends to have more frequently in the quiet of the middle of the night, is an early example of his wrestling with the kinds of deep, existential thinking he's always done.
He's always been exceedingly honest in his songwriting, whether he's been speaking to the more harrowing moments of life or the kind of "what-if" scenarios that can keep one up at 3 a.m. As the band has moved along, so has the range of subjects Tyler's taken up, from the kind of vulnerability once exclusively the domain of the "tor- tured poet" to the kinds of jour- neys of empowerment and resolve we hear in "Leave the City." Tyler contemplates the importance of unraveling these lived mo- ments. He asks us, his audience, to accompany him toward a better understanding of ourselves and our life experiences.
Ty's music has always been a signpost pointing to the oasis of empathy that lies just around the next corner, and his recent songwriting explores a kind of personal evolution—toward a space where the building of em- pathy isn't necessary, because his music transcends lived experiences and taps directly into the essence of the human condition.
The singer's continued creative prescience is exactly what has kept Twenty One Pilots relatable and relevant to their fanbase throughout their now-prolific "Trench" era.
The unique blend of sounds is built into the very essence of the track. Twenty One Pilots are the kind of band that gets lumped into super- categorization, but it's almost fu- tile to try to nail down what they sound like because they sound like so many things, often simultane- ously. Here in "Clancy," the main theme seems to be a deep dive into some kind of mental crisis, as seen through the lens of the band.
On one level, it's a kind of therapy for the artist by way of cordial, intimate conversation; on another level, it's an invitation for the listener to relate (cordially, if pos- sible) to the artist's experience. Take "Snap Back," for instance.
This song's rhythm, infectious as it is, attempts to mask the sinister undertones of a collapsing rela- tionship. And the next song, well, secret's out the album's first single, "Good To Be Bad," goes as far as it can in the other direction. Now, where the lead single dug its heels in with a groove dirtier than what rainwater can wash off, the next song is upswept with a thumping beat. Together, the two are the ultimate Trojan Horse: they gain entry thanks to an al- luring hook, but once inside, they commence an all-out heart heist. The band twenty one pilots is known for their experimental nature.
Each song from this album, Trench, feels like an opening to a new story; it leads the listen- ers in a totally different direction than the previous album. The fans—affectionately called the "skeleton.
clique"- -are committed to deciphering Clancy's world, the different characters, and what's happening in each narrative arc. With "Clancy," they've been given a few new pieces of the story to figure out. There is a distinct feeling of continuing lore and established narratives, making— at least for me—the album feel more like an interactive novel than a traditional album.
To wrap things up, Clancy is twenty one pilots' way of pushing themselves forward as artists. They have found a balance that allows them to use both the affirmation-seeking at the core of contemporary music and the bridge-building power of experi- mental musicianship, leading to an album that is touching and simul- taneously a little bit dangerous in a very exhilarating way.
That half-decade period lead- ing to Clancy has Sheehan as its late-stage villain. Clancy is in many ways the apotheosis of what the DUO was able to do for itself- finding a nourishing middle ground between several very different strands of music. Taking the DUO at its word, one would believe that despite the dark places visited by its previous album, the one- man revolution known as Tyler Joseph and his comrade-in-arms Josh Dun are feeling much better.
Twenty One Pilots' newest release, especially when consid- ered in the light of the band's developing narrative and musical profundity, presents a riveting encapsulation of where the group is at right now in its career. The LP can easily be seen as a direct thematic exploration that picks up right where *Blurryface* left off. Yet, the difference here is in the framework—the band is, quite simply, better at what they do than they were previously. Frontman Tyler Joseph's private life serves as a direct inspira- tion for the track "The Craving
(Jenna's Version)." The song is an affectionately poignant tribute by Joseph to his wife, melding simple, hushed electronics from the first album to the second, lush orches- tral arrangements, all in service of their critique of a certain Champagne-sipping music indus- try. Indeed, in the second song of this tender two-bagger, the line about "sipping a Capri Sun, ...as if it were Dom Perignon" pretty much sums up their intentions and two-faced sense of humor without further ado. It's a serious accusation made with a smile. "Navigating" sticks out for me, with its frenetic drum beat and forceful vocals.
"Oldies Station,” on the other hand, offers a modicum of order amid the album's sometimes riotous milieu. Whereas most of Brightside's first disc is taken up with songs whose words tell of joy or sadness, elation or desperation, soporific trance or vivacious ec- stasy, songs that tread the border between nostalgia and futurism, "Oldies Station" is very much a thing of the present age and a love letter in part to Tyler's long-term relationship with his audience.
It reinforces a relationship that by this point has lasted well over a decade. At last, the album's final track, "Paladin Strait," brings together all the narrative threads sewn into the entire project. Its six-and-a-half minutes alone display exactly how much work and detail has been put into twenty one pilots' latest install- ment. For anyone who has been following the band's progress, this track alone offers such an emo- tional depth, satisfying climax, The future is unclear about whether Tyler and Josh will go deeper into the complex ideas but for now this album is def a must grab for anyone that is a fan