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Label: Fueled By Ramen
Released: 24th May 2024
Twenty One Pilots have always used their albums to create worlds. ‘Vessel’ was a scrappy, intimate record of bedroom daydreams, ‘Blurryface’ was a warped, trolley dash through playlist culture that wasn’t entirely comfortable with its surroundings, while ‘Trench’ was a cinematic wonderland, driven by ambition and a desire for the band to not lose themselves in the global success that had found them. A cult band that never outgrew that desire for fierce connection, Twenty One Pilots create alternative realities to make sense of their own.
‘Clancy’ is no different, but this Twenty One Pilots album feels like a blockbuster event. From the urgent opening recap of ‘Overcompensate’ to the surprise encounter in the dying moments of ‘Paladin Strait’, it’s an album of twists, turns and enthralling escapism. There’s plenty of fanservice, but it never gets in the way of the band’s desire to break new ground.
While ‘Scaled And Icy’ was a neon-drenched search for giddy joy, released at a time when anxiety underpinned every corner of daily life, ‘Clancy’ is an intense record that finds doom around every corner. The garage punk of ‘Next Semester’ sees Tyler playing in traffic and worrying if you can die from anxiety; the glam rock of ‘Vignette’ is a tribute to zombies and denial, while the rumbling ‘Snap Back’ has a bad feeling about everything.
Despite ‘Clancy’ serving as the conclusion to the ‘Trench’ trilogy (which started with ‘Blurryface’), there are no sugary happy endings here. The record flits between the monsters that hide in the shadows and Tyler’s struggle to drag them into the light. Rather than a story where light triumphs over darkness, the album is a celebration of perseverance and the strength that’s found in community. There’s plenty of hope, but it doesn’t come easy.
As for the lore, there are enough nods to the ambitious, ever-expanding story of Clancy and his battle against the Bishops to keep fans busy for the foreseeable future, but that narrative never waters down the emotional gut punches and bursts of optimism that come thick and fast.
‘Clancy’ is a gorgeous, intricate record that cycles through tender, heartfelt moments, fiery rage, flexing swagger and frustrated self-destruction. The real joy comes in the discovery, though. Each song is a self-contained sonic world that adds to the sprawling story of the record, while each deliberate lyric is a rabbit hole to tumble down. It demands attention.
It’s a hugely ambitious record, but instead of worrying about how to make things bigger, ‘Clancy’ focuses on deepening existing relationships. It feels very anti, but it’s never cold and is the perfect showcase of Twenty One Pilots’ unifying power. A lot has changed since the band first started telling this story with ‘Blurryface’ in 2015, but despite everything that’s happened, Twenty One Pilots are still standing alongside the few, the proud and the emotional.
As he explained way back when, “We are emotional, and that is good. To suppress or ignore this would be one step closer to not existing. Music takes what little emotion we may have and cradles it, protects it, and nourishes it.” ‘Clancy’ proudly and defiantly stands by that mantra.
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