Breach

the take

Wow. I never thought anything could top Trench, their 2018 previous magnum opus, yet here we are. Breach has some of the best production I’ve heard from twenty one pilots, and that’s saying something. This album is 13 tracks, and it starts out STRONG! City Walls is a great opener, and it is one of my favorites on the album. One Way, Drum Show, and Center Mass are my other absolute favorites, but there are so many other songs I love as well. The Contract, RAWFEAR, and Tally are also still on repeat. The rest of the album is just as consistently great, with only a couple missteps. I’m not the biggest fan of Tyler’s voice on Robot Voices. It sounds too compressed and a little off. I also don’t love Downstairs as much as other die hard fans, because I just don’t click with it sonically. Some of the best lyrics on the album can be found on Center Mass and RAWFEAR, with both talking about heavy but relatable topics. Breach sounds like a culmination of all the sounds twenty one pilots has ever done, and it is the best of each era. Downstairs sounds straight off of RAB. City Walls has lyrics that call back to Vessel and Intentions is literally Truce reversed. The Contract has Blurryface inspired drums. The production on the whole album sounds similar to that of Trench. Robot Voices and Garbage could pass as SAI songs if you replace the album cover. Finally, Drum Show is a perfect continuation of the guitar work on Clancy. I could go on forever. However, I do have one worry. This doesn’t affect my scoring of this album, but it will in future instances. Twenty one pilots is pulling from their past sounds, but i worry that can hinder growth. All other twenty one pilots albums had songs nothing like what we had heard before, but I don’t really feel that here. City Walls is Overcompensate 2.0 and Drum Show could pass as Navigating. These aren’t bad things on their own, but it could be a crutch instead of a culmination if continued. That being said, this is my favorite album. 9.8