Blurryface: Review

Twenty One Pilots’ newest album, Blurryface, has officially been released for a little over a week. I have been listening to this album basically nonstop since last Tuesday, and have been trying to take in as much of the album as I can.

Listening to new albums, specifically ones that you have been looking forward to hearing for months on end, is always such an exciting experience. Whether or not you end up enjoying the album, it’s still a time of reflection and absorption.

Twenty One Pilots is solely made up of two members, but it doesn’t hold them back. Both hailing from Ohio, the due is known for their original sound, fast rhymes, and intense, upbeat live performances. The band has a dedicated fanbase, who have been awaiting anxiously for the new album.

I have had the opportunity to see Twenty One Pilots live in concert once, and they definitely live up to the hype. Despite only having two bodies onstage, the duo puts on an impressive live show, complete with a lot of flips, a couple masks, and a moment where the band’s drummer, Josh, sets his drum set on a wooden board, held up by the audience. (Watch a video here).

I was unsure of what to expect of this new album. I had really fallen in love with this band after listening to 2013’s Vessel, an album comprised of dark subject matter with heavy lyrics. It was a typical album for high school me to relate to. However, I have grown out of that music phase of my life, and wondered what Twenty One Pilots was preparing to deliver to the world.

Blurryface was a pleasant surprise. After hearing the album’s second single, “Tear In My Heart,” I knew this album was going to be different: an actual love song was going to be on a Twenty One Pilots album?! Newly married lead singer Tyler professes his love for his new wife in this charming song about the way that love kills you, but in the absolute best way possible. (His wife makes an appearance in the music video, watch it here).

“Ride” continues the album’s upbeat vibe, a song about enjoying life, although it leads to our inevitable demise. It’s a song that is jam packed with clever lyrics that so filled with humility and authenticity. The chorus is so catchy and will definitely be stuck in my head all summer.

And finally, “Stressed Out” is arguably one of the band’s strongest songs to date, in my opinion. This song in particular pulled at my heartstrings because it is so relatable. Singing about the fear, the stress, and the overall dismal feeling that young adults feel while transitioning from childhood to adulthood is a song that without a doubt, resonates with a lot of different people. Lyrics like “I was told when I get older, all my fears would shrink. But now I’m insecure, and I care what people think” are what draw casual listeners in to becoming die hard fans.

Despite being unsure of what was to come from Blurryface, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I think that it is the band’s best work, and will continue to push the band into more success and will increase their fan base: not to mention that this is the band’s first album to hit number one on the Billboard 200 Chart. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this band.

Key Tracks: “Tear In My Heart,” “Stressed Out,” “Ride,” “We Don’t Believe What’s On TV”

Check out this interesting post about who Blurryface supposedly is.

Have you had a chance to listen to Blurryface? If so, share your opinion in a comment below!
Like what your’e reading? Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog via e-mail to receive a notification every time I publish a new post!

– Kristin