Twenty One Pilots — Trench (10/05/18)

8.5/10

On the second album since their break into the mainstream, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun humbly deliver a soft set of alternative pop.

Joseph sounds better than ever, having found a perfect mid-range for his vocals over songs that rarely push him to any extremes. Though when he does push his vocals (“Legend”, “Morph”, “My Blood”), he shows a side to his voice that could compete with some of today’s biggest pop stars.

For the die-hard fans, the album’s conceptual city of Dema with the bishops and the banditos will provide a possible story to the music. For the average listener though, the concept isn’t at the forefront of this album. This is a group of songs touching on themes of insecurities (“Jumpsuit”), suicide (“Neon Gravestones”), and love (“Smithereens”).

The Ohio duo as usual add their spin to the mainstream pop sound. Notably “Chlorine” which provides the strongest hook of the album is stretched from a 3-and-a-half-minute pop hit to being over 5 minutes with a chill-inducing outro.

“Can you build my house with pieces? I’m just a chemical.”

At 57-minutes, this is the longest of their past three releases and though some listeners may find themselves drifting on a track like “Cut My Lip,” there’s very little to be bored with on this album.

From the bold artwork to the near-flawless track list, it’s hard to find much to complain about with Twenty One Pilot’s latest. It’s most certainly a step forward from Blurryface, though a subtle step. And that feeling you had when you got into Vessel, maybe it’s nostalgia, but whatever it is, you just won’t be able to find it again with these guys.