twenty øne piløts – “Breach” review

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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Rico Nasty – “Lethal” review

Maryland recording artist Rico Nasty finally releasing her sophomore effort. Turning heads in 2018 off her 6th mixtape Nasty, I was still very much impressed by her unique personality & her eclecticism although it was just ok. However the next spring, she got Kenny Beats to produce her debut EP Anger Management in it’s entirety & that ended up being my favorite body of work of hers even to this day. Nightmare Vacation was a bit of a step down from Anger Management even though it has a good share of bangers like “iPhone” & “10Fo”, but Las Ruinas showed a more experimental side to her & A Nasty Summer was kinda mediocre truthfully. HVRDC0RE DR3AMZ produced by Boyz Noize showed improvement building further anticipation for Lethal approximately 12 months later.

“Who Want It?” produced by Rogét Chahayed kicks it all off with an industrial hardcore hip hop intro asking if anyone wants smoke with her whereas “Teethsucker (Yea3x)” works in elements of rap rock, trap metal, pop rap & pop punk boasting that she has pulled up to the spot. “On the Low” fuses pop rap, trap, electropop, rage, digicore & pluggnb promising she’ll keep this relationship she has on the DL leading into the bubbly “Pink” talking about her bitch’s favorite color.

Pop rap, experimental hip hop, Jersey Club rap, digicore & emo rap all collide during the final single “Butterfly Kisses” moving like a nomad making her neighbors thinking she’s selling keys while “Eat Me!” keeps the aggressive trap flares going talking about people looking up to her these days. “Soul Snatcher” boisterously runs with the paper taking guys’ souls since the head was so good, but then “Grave” darkly talks about rocking shit as if she’s ripping a guitar.

“Son of a Gun” gets back in her trap metal roots so she can advise not to run whenever she shows up & refusing to let anyone put batteries in your back while “Smoke Break” turns the heaviness up talking about fucking shit up for herself. “Crash” brings a pop punk vibe to the table looking for a place she can let off some steam much like waves while the cloudy “Can’t Win ‘Em All” asks if she’s a bad person & if it’s ever enough.

The song “Say We Did” reaches the backend of Lethal finding Rico in her sassy bag having a trick or 2 up her sleeve & becoming unsure of what this person in her life exactly wants while “You Could Never” disses those who’re trying to steal her shine & people criticizing her for being too out of the box when that’s what made many including myself pay close attention to her. “Smile” is an acoustic closer dedicated to the special someone in her life while “Pepper” starts the deluxe run reuniting with Kenny Beats to flex her new Attico boots.

“Pretea” takes inspiration from pop punk again singing about her being a diva while the cloudy trap crossover “Pearls” telling anybody who’s sittin’ down the section that they’re not gettin’ lit enough. “Black Lace” shifts towards a rage-inducing direction suggesting this bitch is late to findin’ out about her when approached regarding Rico being late to a party & the final bonus track “Stunna” boisterously talks about being a top dog.

Feeling there was an investment she needed to make in herself, Lethal further reveals every facet of Rico Nasty whether it’s the styles that made her a household name or more guitars than previously & even touching on her own motherhood journey. She taking the energy of her previous output & channels it in a very cocky way with the production drawing inspiration from rap rock, trap metal, pop rap, pop punk, industrial hip hop, hardcore hip hop, electropop, rage, experimental hip hop, Jersey Club rap, digicore & emo rap.

Score: 3.5/5

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twenty øne piløts – “Clancy” review

twenty øne piløts is a duo from Columbus, Ohio 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, Blurryface near 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 & are looking to bounce back from the subpar reception of Scaled & Icy to release their 7th album.

“Compensate” is a great beginning to Clancy fusing pop rap, alternative dance, big beat, trip hop, electropop & industrial hip hop flying by the dangerous bend symbol whereas “Next Semester” was the best single working elements of post-punk revival, garage rock revival, power pop & dance punk talking about starting fresh the following semester. “Backslide” crosses pop rap, trip hop, alt-pop & even boom bap over onto 1 fearing of relapsing old habits prior to the synth-punk flavored “Midwest Indigo” finding the titular character Clancy returning home from college for winter break maintaining the indie rock, indie pop, power pop, new wave, synthpop & post-punk revival vibes.

The melodic “Routines in the Night” tackles a recurring theme throughout the LP & really tøp’s discography of fighting your demons at the night just before “Vignette” takes the synth-funk route instrumentally to talk about addiction. “The Craving” blends indie folk, indie pop, pop rock & folk pop expressing Tyler’s love for his wife Jenna Joseph while “Lavish” criticizes the lavish nature of luxury life, the unnecessary ostentatious award ceremonies/shows & the need for a false toughness in order to survive in the music industry over a neo-psychedelia, art pop, alt-pop, psychedelic pop, chamber pop, boom bap, pop rap & trip hop hybrid.

“Navigating” showcases influences of post-punk revival, dance-punk, garage rock revival, power pop, alternative rock & new wave depicting the endless battle with the brain, but then “Snap Back” primarily keeps it alt-pop with the exceptions of pop rap, trip hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B & emo rap weaving themselves in additionally talking about wrestling with an addiction that threatens to come back. “Oldies Station” is a indie pop, piano rock, indietronica, neo-psychedelia & post-Britpop track encouraging to let depression roll off your back & persevere while “At the Risk of Feeling Dumb” nears the end of Clancy addressing the complexities of friendship and support during challenging times over an alt-pop emo-pop, trip hop, alternative rock & pop reggae beat. “Paladin Strait” ends on the synthpop tip tracin’ out a line Tyler has mapped 1,000 times.

These guys are sorta known for having a bit of a toxic fandom & even I myself will acknowledge that, I nevertheless still enjoy Blurryface & Trench since those are the 2 full-lengths contain my favorite material of theirs. What about Clancy here? It’s an improvement from Scaled & Icy few years back & I certainly can’t deny that. We get a cohesive story of the titular character named after the protagonist Trench introduced us to & the final chapter in their nearly decade-long conceptual series basing itself around alt-pop & indie rock primarily joined by pop rap, pop rock, indie pop, trip hop, dance-punk, synth-punk, indie folk, folk pop, post-punk revival, garage rock revival, power pop, pop rap, alternative rock, new wave, piano rock, synthpop, indietronica, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, post-Britpop, alternative dance, big beat, synth-funk, boom bap, emo rap, emo-pop & pop reggae as secondary genres.

Score: 3.5/5

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