TWENTY ONE PILOTS RELEASE NEW ALBUM ‘Breach’ – Intentions Are Everything

Photo Credit: Atlantic Records

The date was 24^th May 2024, the day of Twenty One Pilots’ livestream celebrating their brand new album Clancy. Just before Paladin Strait was shown, Tyler looked at the camera and said the words, “You tell me, does it sound like the end?” What exactly did Tyler mean by this? No one knew. And that question wouldn’t be answered until 21^st June, with the official release of the Paladin Strait music video, which left us on a massive cliffhanger with Nico having his hands wrapped around Clancy’s throat, uttering the words, “So few, so proud, so emotional. Hello, Clancy.” And that was it. We were left in the dark until little hints started to crop up.

During their Clancy World Tour, Twenty One Pilots featured a special fan event called The Fan Premier Exhibit. One exhibit featured letters written by Dema citizens using morse code at the end of each letter. Dema, for those who don’t follow the lore, is a fictional city on the continent of Trench, created by Twenty One Pilots themselves. Now, I couldn’t decipher morse code; I wouldn’t know where to start. Others did, thankfully, so at each city in the European leg came a new code. By the end, the word for the European leg finally became whole, and that word was Breach.

Was it a new track? A new album? Us fans had no clue. So, we pondered, we thought, and we theorised. And then, on the 10th anniversary of Blurryface, the eye on Twenty One Pilots’ profile picture started to close, and their website began to desaturate. As the days went on, the eye kept closing, and the website kept desaturating. OG fans from the Blurryface era will remember that once the eye closed, Twenty One Pilots began a hiatus before launching their new album Trench, in 2018. Nerves were high online. On Wednesday 21^st May, to fans’ surprise, came the announcement that Twenty One Pilots would be releasing a new full-length album, Breach, arriving on the 12^th of September.

Welcome to my review of Twenty One Pilots’ eighth studio album, Breach.

Kicking off with the juggernaut, City Walls. This track, said by Tyler himself, was to be the end of the ten-year storyline that began all the way back with Heavydirtysoul. Big shoes to fill indeed! So how would I describe this opener? Well, let me put it like this: grab the best of Tyler’s grittiest bass lines, his ever-defying scream, Josh’s extraordinary talent on the drums, and lyrics that pack a serious punch in the gut. Put all this in a blender and mix it; you’ll get City Walls, a standout track that defines Twenty One Pilots’ sound. It has everything you want and more, and I haven’t even gotten started on their Holding On To You reference, when Tyler screams “Entertain my faith”, which will send chills down your spine for any fans of their 2011 album, Vessel. So, what about the video? Well, for those expecting a happy ending to the story, I’m sorry to burst your bubble; it doesn’t. After a flashback through the videos of Heavydirtysoul, Jumpsuit, and Levitate, which were all recreated, and finally defeating Nico, Clancy puts on the red bishop’s robe. He is gone. Welcome, Nova Bishop. The lyrics “This is the last time that I try” ring out, and the subtle tune of Heavydirtysoul enters, indicating that the cycle will begin again. As the robes are handed out, Torchbearer leaves to begin his quest to find Clancy to once again try and finally break the cycle. This Clancy might have given in (that’s not entirely a bad thing), but Torchbearer hasn’t – and neither have we. The credits roll as their final track, Intentions, plays out, but more on that later.

The second track of the album, RAWFEAR, echoes the lyrics “It’s not a pass or fail but a poisonous progression.” I see this as: we may stumble, but we begin this fight again. Each time we fight, it will become easier, but we must suffer to grow and become stronger. A nod to the cycle of Clancy, but also to something we all feel in our daily lives. It’s a personal favourite of mine on the album. I can’t say how many times I’ve sung that addictive bridge!

Drum Show follows, and history is made. Josh Dun officially sings his first lyrics on a Twenty One Pilots’ track, and we’re here for it! His words, “I’ve been this way, I want to change,” feel deeply personal. As a long-time fan, seeing his confidence grow over the years is beautiful. Combine that with a catchy bassline and Tyler’s signature screams, then you have the recipe for a classic Twenty One Pilots song, and that’s what Drum Show is.

Another favourite of mine, Garbage, arrives and hits in waves I didn’t think were possible. It’s a song where the lyrics take centre stage and, like City Walls, feels like my second punch in the gut. The lyrics “Maybe this is you, maybe you don’t fix, and you like it like this”, mixed with subtle piano, provide a real tear-jerker. Speaking personally, I saw this song as a way of saying that sometimes it’s easier to retreat into yourself than to fight and become better.

Their first released single, The Contract, swiftly follows with a dramatic shift in tension. Reminiscent of Heavydirtysoul in parts, the track is sharp and punchy with drumbeats that feel more intense than ever. Tyler uses auto-tune in such a stylistic way that you’re bombarded with lyrics that will be stuck in your head for days to come.

Downstairs, originally a 14-year-old demo titled Korea, plays out and transports us into a dark and haunting place. The lyrics within this album feel as personal as ever. Tyler feels his most vulnerable here, reminiscing on the time he used to create music in his basement – his safe space away from all his fears and insecurities. So, when Robot Voices begins, it’s a nice shift in pace – taking an uplifting approach, filled with catchy drumbeats and synths that feel dreamlike. Speaking lyrics of hope, and how even when we feel our worst and don’t feel like we deserve anything, we are indeed deserving of love. Oh, and let’s not forget that “Wooo” sample; I swear that’s from their MTV Unplugged back in 2023.

Speaking of samples – and I didn’t hear this on the first listen – at the start of Center Mass, we have two samples taken straight from the clique itself. The iconic “my death” line from Trees is sung by a fan during the Clancy World Tour, whilst the second sample, “Girl, I don’t think you should take that”, is from the Manchester Drumgate incident, a show I was present at. Speaking of the song itself, the lyrics feel as raw as ever. “Nothing was the same right after I went to the funeral” will hit you like a truck. By the 2.18 mark, I was in tears. Tyler hits each note with so much emotional weight, backed by the drums and synths hitting their hardest. This song shared a powerful message, and it was clear it needed to be heard. I certainly did.

Cottonwood quietly enters next, serving as a loving tribute to Tyler’s late grandfather. As someone who’s just lost someone himself and is struggling to deal with his emotions about it all, Cottonwood is very welcomed. The blend of soft keys and lyrics focuses on what we feel after someone passes, the grief, the regret for what we should have said, and the fact we’ve got to come to terms with them being gone forever.

Take a deep breath and let out those emotions though, as One Way is here to change things up once again. It’s a song that feels very reminiscent of The Hype and Legend from the album Trench. A simple yet captivating bass line, filled with infectious synth beats will have your body moving to each drum and chorus beat. The song ends with a voicemail from Josh before the hard keys and Tyler’s scream burst onto the scene with Days Lie Dormant. Josh was right in that voicemail – this was a total vibe shift, feeling like it was pulled straight from their Regional At Best/Vessel days. If there were a ‘Jenna’ song in this album, my bets would fully be on this one. Being on tour for most of this last year, away from the ones you love most, must be a hard feeling – and “To waste my time inside a place you’re not” is a very touching sentiment.

And just like that, we’ve arrived at the last two songs of the album. Tally and Intentions. The first of the two, again, if you follow the lore, will feel very devastating to listen to. We don’t know the number of cycles Clancy has been through or how many failures Torchbearer has witnessed. The lyrics, “I see your heart break every time, still now”, play on this. One thing is for certain: Torchbearer will always be there, believing in him. He knows that deep down, Clancy has good intentions and will do anything to break this cycle.

Now for Intentions…the ‘calm after the storm’ track that will hit you down to your deepest emotional state. If I could phrase this entire album from a single line of lyrics, it would be “Intentions are everything.” Tyler wrote this song as his way of attempting to understand the end of the City Walls music video. But this song is so much more than that. We live each day dealing with struggles in life that can sometimes overwhelm us and make us feel like we’re not good enough; that we will fail. Yet no one has the answers to life; we can only live each day by trying to be ourselves, putting one step in front of the other, and trying again. What makes Intentions feel so heart-wrenching is if you played it in reverse, you’d hear the piano and vocal harmonies of their Vessel closing song, Truce. The sun will rise, and we will try again.

This album isn’t just about the cycle of Clancy; it’s a love letter to the fans who have stuck with Twenty One Pilots all this time. We’ve seen both Tyler and Josh grow not just as musicians, but as two individuals who many of us look up to as role models. This may be their last record for a while, and after their Breach tour in America concludes, it might indeed be the last time they tour for a while, too.

One thing will always be certain though, and that is Torchbearer will always be there for Clancy, and we will always be there for Tyler and Josh.

Breach is out now everywhere.

Unless otherwise stated, Photography & Text Copyright 2025 © Jack Walsh/ADRENALINE Magazine.