Sophia Allen
Lantern Staff
With 14 tracks that display varying sounds, Twenty One Pilots’ fifth album, Trench, was highly anticipated. The variation in music had already been shown with four singles released earlier this year, but it became more clear when the album dropped Friday, Oct. 5.
The songs on this album go from more upbeat ones like “Chlorine” and “My Blood,” to slow and somber ones like “Bandito” and “Leave the City,” and those in various levels in between, like “My Blood” and “Nico and the Niners.”
The band has used this album to experiment with new sounds. These are most evident in “Morph,” “Chlorine” and “Pet Cheetah.” These songs are significantly different than the band’s previous discography, and most of the songs in this album do sound different to some extent, but the lyrics and messages largely remain similar.
By far one of the most important songs on the album is “Neon Gravestones.” This song talks about the way society glorifies suicide and how that is a problem, without beating around the bush. It also talks about the difference between what happens when it is an ordinary person and when it is a celebrity who dies.
At the end of the song, it takes a different tone, telling the listener to thank someone of age for being dedicated to life. Even after having listened to “Neon Gravestones” quite a few times, it is hard not to shed a tear.
There are also other songs on the album that talk about mental health. The singer of the band, Tyler Joseph, has written many songs about his dark thoughts and talked about it quite a bit. He has previously labeled them as “Blurryface” but in this album they are referenced by different names. In “Morph,” they show up as “Nicolas Bourbaki” and later just as “Nico”.
Overall, Trench is an amazing album with a surprising but good sound. 10/10
