This is the 8th full-length LP from Columbus, Ohio duo twenty øne piløts consisting of lead vocalist, pianist, ukulele player, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, programmer & percussionist Tyler Joseph alongside drummer, percussionist, trumpeter & backing vocals Josh Dun. Although their eponymous debut as well as Regional at Best & Vessel were decent, Blurryfacenear the end of my senior year of high school caught my attention since former Aftermath Entertainment in-house producer Mike Elizondo did a few tracks on there including what’s arguably Tyler & Josh’s biggest hit “Stressed Out”. Trench in the fall of 2018 went on to become their most acclaimed body of work yet although Scaled & Icy wasn’t that well received Clancy almost a year & a half ago recovered from the subpar reception of it’s predecessor, anticipating Breach to continue traveling down that same trajectory.
“City Walls” starts with a fusion between alternative rock, ambient pop, rap rock, emo-pop, art rock & singer/songwriter finishing the Dema storyline for good whereas “RAWFEAR” goes for a synthpop vibe singing about living in constant fear. “Drum Show” combines alt-rock, post-punk revival, emo-pop, post-hardcore & garage rock revival to represent Josh’s metaphoric coping mechanism while “Garbage” produced by Mike Elizondo about feeling like complete shit.
Alternative dance, breakbeat, rap rock, indietronica, alt-pop, pop rock & hyperpop all cross paths during the lead single “The Contract”becoming increasingly anxious of a necromancer just before “Downstairs” sings about hiding one’s beliefs from others & oneself in a metaphorical cellar. “Robot Dance” heavily interpolates “My Soft Spots My Robots” by Blanket Approval for a love song of its own while “Center Mass” sings about fragility & resilience.
“Cottonwood” delves deeper into the 2nd act of Breach with a tribute to Tyler’s grandfather who passed away earlier this year while “1 Way” sings about struggling with escapism & limitation. “Days Lie Dormant” was conceived from Tyler feeling homesick away from his wife Jenna on the road & once “Tally” openly addresses fears of the Clique being disappointed, “Intentions” ties up any loose ends with a spiritual successor to “Truce” off Vessel.
Breach resolves the cliffhanger that ended Clancy almost a year & a half ago concluding a decade-long series conceptual albums that began with Blurryface when I was first introduced to twenty øne piløts surpassing Clancy for their 2nd best rivaling Trench. Their production emphasizes alternative rock as much as they did alt-pop & indie rock pulling further inspiration from emo-pop, post-punk revival, pop rock & indietronica to take on themes of breaking free from the cycles of mental health struggles.
Score: 4.5/5
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