Twenty One Pilots’ “Trench” Stays True to their Brand

Through cryptic messages and obscure letters, Twenty One Pilots have finally released their highly anticipated fifth studio album Trench. The Ohio duo consisting of singer-songwriter Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun (with the help of Mutemath’s Paul Meany), introduce a new dystopian world that revisits dark themes found in their previous works.

Back in 2015, listeners were introduced to Blurryface, a fictional character that encompasses Tyler Joseph’s demons and insecurities. With mixtures of reggae, hip hop/rap, and alternative pop influences, every track was at least certified gold, which made it the first album in history to accomplish that. From that success, people were curious as to how their next album would sound like.  

The 14-track album is somewhat similar to its predecessor, in that it tackles new types of sounds and contains expressive songwriting. What’s more fascinating about the album is the story line that accompanies it. Prior to its release, a mysterious website called dmaorg.org emerged. It contains puzzling images, gifs, and letters from a character named Clancy who seems to be trapped in this world, known as Dema. With the knowledge of this site, it provides insight on what’s being mentioned in the album, as well as it helps paint a picture of how bad this place is.

The band starts off the album with a fast-paced song titled “Jumpsuit”, which addresses Tyler’s insecurities from fame and his opinions on the music industry. Then, we transition to Josh’s drumming on “Levitate”, a laid back “Morph”, a disco-esque “My Blood”, and “Chlorine” which appears to talk about an attempted suicide. Further on, there’s tracks such as the reggae-influenced “Cut My Lip”, and “Bandito”, a complex track that talks about a group of rebels who are against Dema.

Twenty One Pilots have once again stayed true to their brand. Although Trench presents itself as a low-key album, with more songs sounding mellow and mature, it still contains poignant  messages. I wouldn’t be surprised if the album became as successful as Blurryface, since both albums experiment with different melodies, and have the same message of overcoming your demons in order to find yourself.  

Recommended Tracks: “Jumpsuit” and “The Hype”

Rating: 8/10

Album Review By: Selena Choy