Twenty One Pilots - Trench
Twenty One Pilots - Trench
Release Date: October 5, 2018
Genres: Alternative Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Reggae, Pop
Reviewing Trench by Twenty One Pilots was definitely a strange experience for me. There are very few bands and artists where my opinion of them changed so drastically. Before Twenty One Pilots blew up, I considered myself a massive fan. Vessel was on repeat for several months and I knew basically every word to every song. Blurryface rolled around in May of 2015, and I wasnât really a fan, but I eventually forced myself to like it. I saw the duo live in October of 2015 and had an incredible time at the concert. However, as time passed, the bandâs tragically annoying fanbase (nicknamed âThe Skeleton Cliqueâ) wore on me, and my love of Twenty One Pilots came to a screeching halt. It wasnât until now that I finally returned to their music, and I tried to have an open mindset, although that was difficult at times. I revisited their albums before writing this review, and I found that there were a lot of shining moments, but mostly an abundance of potential. Vessel has many of the bands best songs to date, and Blurryface, although it admittedly had some rough song writing and overblown production, shot the band into the ears of anyone with a radio, whether they liked it or not. I was never a huge fan of the bandâs debut, but even that self-titled record had some great songwriting that carried into their other projects. All of these albums eventually led to this one, Trench, and after a strangely silent three years, Twenty One Pilots have come back stronger than they have ever been.
Before I get into the actual review, I want to explain Trenchâs narrative as quickly as possible, considering it is a genuine concept album. There is a fictional city named Dema, which is controlled by nine Bishops (Nico and the Niners). A rebel group, known as the Banditos, is working to escape the control of the Bishops, and to ultimately leave the city of Dema. The Banditos wear jumpsuits that are lined with yellow tape, and Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun are both members of the the Banditos. Nico is also Blurryface (from the previous album), which is basically the representation of Tylerâs insecurities. Leaving Dema and escaping the Bishops is essentially an extended metaphor for escaping your insecurities and being able to live how you want to live. Thereâs even more lore than all of this, and you can easily find a lot of fan theories and Reddit threads that go deeper into it all. If youâre interested in a learning more, but in a more enjoyable and accessible fashion, I would recommend watching the music videos for the lead singles âJumpsuitâ and âNico and the Ninersâ. Hopefully that crude explanation of the albumâs concept is sufficient because Iâm moving on.
The most notable and all-encompassing improvement on this new Twenty One Pilots album is an overall sense of cohesion that can be seen in every aspect of the album. Although it might sound absurd, the albumâs overall narrative actually works pretty well with the themes of the album. There are really only four songs that are truly devoted to the albumâs narrative, those being âJumpsuitâ, âNico and the Ninersâ, âBanditoâ, and âLeave the Cityâ. Aside from âNico and the Ninersâ, none of these songs really force the narrative down your throat either. The lyrics to these songs are packed with metaphors, and they all happen to fall in line with the narrative arc. And although the rest of the songs donât make any serious allusions to the story, Tyler Joseph's metaphor-filled songwriting has led to many fan connections and theories that arenât necessarily far fetched by any means. The narrative holds up, and many of the songs support it well. Itâs vague enough to keep much of it open to interpretation, but what is directly stated builds a solid framework for the story to work itself out in.
Keeping up with the theme of cohesion, the songs on Trench have solid structures that donât jump around too often. The rapping has been dialed down a lot on this project, and though that may upset a lot of die-hard fans, it ultimately lends itself to smoother songs with cleaner structure. Thatâs not to say there isnât rapping at all. âLevitateâ is the best rapping that Tyler Joseph has ever done on a track, hands down. His flow is nearly flawless, and he honestly stands his ground among a hip hop heavy mainstream in 2018. âNeon Gravestonesâ is also rap-centric, but in a completely different way. My roommate told me that he thought it sounded like Hamilton (the musical), and I definitely agree. âNeon Gravestonesâ is actually a very important track, as Tyler expresses his discontent with modern societyâs glorification of death and suicide. âLevitateâ and âNeon Gravestonesâ are the two best tracks on the album (in my opinion), but I still think the decision to remove a lot of the rapping on the album was a smart and justified one. Tyler Joseph is able to convey a lot of different emotions through his voice, and that range is evident throughout this project. âJumpsuitâ contains almost childlike vocals from Tyler, which reflects the songâs themes of fear and protection quite well. His falsetto on the chorus of âMorphâ is earcandy, and he uses it again on the incredibly peaceful âBanditoâ. âSmithereensâ and âLegendâ both remind me of the older work of the group, and a lot of that can be attributed to Tylerâs signing. And I canât even explain it, but something about his vocals on âThe Hypeâ are just so addicting to me. The tracklisting here is littered with impressive showings from Tyler Joseph, and he comes across as a impressive singer here more than any other project, rather than just an introspective songwriter who happens to rap over alternative rock production.
In terms of lyrical content, Trench sees the band as much more optimistic and accepting individuals, rather than the emotional wrecks that weâve seen on previous efforts. That isnât to say that this album isnât emotional, itâs just much less âemoâ than before. âLegendâ sees Tyler addressing the recent death of his grandfather, but his outlook on the situation is beautifully optimistic. âLeave the Cityâ, the albumâs closer, ends the albums narrative, but its metaphor shows Tyler accepting his mental health and he seems to have come to terms with living with it. âSmithereensâ is similar to Blurryfaceâs âTear In My Heartâ, but sadly the ode to his wife comes off as cheap and simply unappealing. Tyler Joseph also writes about some new topics too. On âChlorineâ, he sings about the cleansing power of music (itâs not as cheesy as it seems), and on âPet Cheetahâ, he addresses the writerâs block that afflicted him while writing the album. âMy Bloodâ is a simple, radio-friendly take on brotherly love, and its sincerity is tangible and powerful. The song topics across the album are fairly varied, and it keeps the overall effort feeling fresh all the way through.
In terms of the albumâs actual musical composition, the album is much more reserved than the bombastic Blurryface. Twenty One Pilots is often seen as a genre-hopping group, which is just as often a detriment as it is something to be happy about. On Trench, they tone things down and iron out a lot of these musical inconsistencies. Sure, there are definitely hints of many different genres here, but the overall package is simply a solid pop record. Josh Dunâs drumming is consistently a highlight in the composition of each song, and the production is created in a way that almost seems to be built around it. âJumpsuitâ opens the album with a pounding bassline that comes in and out at the chorus, but itâs Dunâs drumming that carries the rest of the song and controls the build ups. The chorus of âChlorineâ exists in a open void with only a twinkling production effect and some mellow drumming to uphold it. A lot of the ukulele that made up several of the older Twenty One Pilots songs is now reduced to a supporting role, which honestly works much better. Itâs used more consistently, and it supports the production better than it would have led it. The consistency throughout the album unfortunately leads to some stale production however. Much of this is due to tracks being too long with the production unable to hold it up. âChlorineâ drags on way too long for its own good as the final two minutes are completely unnecessary. âBanditoâ has a really slow start with choruses that drag on too long, but itâs luckily saved by an explosive finale. âCut My Lipâ is sadly boring all the way through. The lyrics are boring, the production is boring, and everything just feels way too slow. Like the other aspects of the album Iâve looked at, the production is good for the most part, but it isnât without its problems.
Overall, Twenty One Pilots have delivered a very solid record that is a good listen from front to back. Nothing here is that new, but rather they have built upon a lot of the foundation they have established in their previous albums. Much of the album is an improvement on the past, though some of the changes here donât quite pan out all the way. Making Trench a concept album works surprisingly well, and it holds the album together in a strong way. The songwriting isnât as emotionally potent as albums like Vessel, but the songwriting is still strong despite this. As a whole, Trench is definitely worth a listen, especially if you leave behind any previous notions you may have had about the band and its fanbase.
* âNico and the Ninersâ
