In 2015, Twenty One Pilots got their big break. The Ohioans’ fourth album, ‘Blurryface’, summited the US chart and sent two singles into similarly rarefied air. The following year another song, Heathens, ushered in the soundtrack to the hit film, Suicide Squad. The resulting period has seen the band ascend to arena-filling stardom and paved the way for ‘Trench’, a record that combines their distinctive blend of elaborate production with re-upped nu-metal.
There is some real musicianship here. The opener, Jumpsuit, combines shuffling drum loops with elegant, reverby piano and ascends to a captivating scream-core chorus. Elsewhere, My Blood focuses more on the groove. It has an addictive Adam Levine swagger that offers recourse to the suburban whiteboy rap elsewhere on the album. Vocalist Tyler Joseph is really pushing himself here.
Broadly, the band are interesting in genre terms. Like Arctic Monkeys, they broke through to the mainstream a full 10 years after their basic genre had died a death (indie with the Arctics/nu-metal here). But, though ‘Trench’ operates at a consistently high quality with up to date production and themes, it still feels creatively anachronistic.
Furthermore, while the album tries to be a tour of their influences - a visit to Linkin Park here, a stay at early Maroon 5 there - it's more of a Frankenstein’s monster: a pop album that feels written by a committee with a particular demographic in mind. When the reggae-infused Nico and the Niners arrives, you too might have had enough.
It would be naive to think ‘Trench’ is alone in being carefully focus grouped, of course, but there is something a little more unsavoury here and certain tracks reveal cracks in an underdeveloped pop persona. None more so than Neon Gravestones, a sombre shuffler in which Joseph’s rapped bars recall the work of another midwesterner: Eminem. It is only when such a comparison is made that one really appreciates the watery tedium of what is on offer here.
Twenty One Pilots Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Wed February 27 2019 - BIRMINGHAM Genting Arena
Fri March 01 2019 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Sat March 02 2019 - BELFAST SSE Arena Belfast
Mon March 04 2019 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Tue March 05 2019 - MANCHESTER Arena
Thu March 07 2019 - LONDON SSE Arena Wembley
Fri March 08 2019 - LONDON SSE Arena Wembley
Sat March 09 2019 - LONDON SSE Arena Wembley
Fri December 07 2018 - PERTH Perth Arena
Mon December 10 2018 - ADELAIDE AEC Arena
Thu December 13 2018 - MELBOURNE Rod Laver Arena
Sun December 16 2018 - SYDNEY Qudos Bank Arena
Tue December 18 2018 - BRISBANE Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Fri December 21 2018 - AUCKLAND Spark Arena (Previously Vector Arena)
Tue October 16 2018 - NASHVILLE Tennessee - Bridgestone Arena (USA)
Wed October 17 2018 - CHICAGO Illinois - United Center (USA)
Fri October 19 2018 - ST LOUIS Missouri - Enterprise Center (USA)
Sat October 20 2018 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - Fiserv Forum (USA)
Sun October 21 2018 - SAINT PAUL Minnesota - Xcel Energy Center (USA)
Tue October 23 2018 - CLEVELAND Ohio - Quicken Loans Arena (USA)
Wed October 24 2018 - DETROIT Michigan - Little Caesars Arena (USA)
Fri October 26 2018 - BOSTON Massachusetts - TD Garden (USA)
Sat October 27 2018 - UNIONDALE New York - NYCB Live Home Of The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (USA)
Sun October 28 2018 - PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvania - Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia (USA)
Tue October 30 2018 - NEW YORK New York - Madison Square Garden (USA)
Wed October 31 2018 - WASHINGTON District Of Columbia - Capital One Arena (USA)
Fri November 02 2018 - ATLANTA Georgia - State Farm Arena (USA)
Sat November 03 2018 - TAMPA Florida - Amalie Arena (USA)
Sun November 04 2018 - FORT LAUDERDALE Florida - BB&T Center (USA)
Tue November 06 2018 - HOUSTON Texas - Toyota Center (USA)
Wed November 07 2018 - DALLAS Texas - American Airlines Center (USA)
Fri November 09 2018 - PHOENIX Arizona - Talking Stick Resort Arena (USA)
Sat November 10 2018 - LOS ANGELES California - Forum Los Angeles (USA)
Sun November 11 2018 - OAKLAND California - Oracle Arena (USA)
Tue November 13 2018 - SALT LAKE CITY Utah - Vivint Smart Home Arena (USA)
Thu November 15 2018 - PORTLAND Oregon - Moda Center at the Rose Quarter (USA)
Fri November 16 2018 - TACOMA Washington - Tacoma Dome (USA)
Sat November 17 2018 - BOISE Idaho - Taco Bell Arena (USA)
Mon November 19 2018 - DENVER Colorado - Pepsi Center (USA)
Tue November 20 2018 - LINCOLN Nebraska - Pinnacle Bank Arena (USA)
Wed November 21 2018 - KANSAS CITY Missouri - Sprint Center (USA)
Sun May 12 2019 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - Rogers Arena (Canada)
Tue May 14 2019 - CALGARY Alberta - Scotiabank Saddledome (Canada)
Wed May 15 2019 - EDMONTON Alberta - Rogers Place (Canada)
Fri May 17 2019 - WINNIPEG Manitoba - Bell MTS Place (Canada)
Mon May 20 2019 - LONDON ON Ontario - Budweiser Gardens (Canada)
Tue May 21 2019 - OTTAWA Ontario - Canadian Tire Centre (Canada)
Wed May 22 2019 - MONTREAL Quebec - Bell Centre (Canada)
Tue May 28 2019 - TORONTO Ontario - Scotiabank Arena (Canada)
Fri May 31 2019 - GRAND RAPIDS Michigan - Van Andel Arena (USA)
Sat June 01 2019 - BUFFALO New York - Keybank Center (USA)
Tue June 04 2019 - BROOKLYN New York - Barclays Center (USA)
Fri June 07 2019 - PITTSBURGH Pennsylvania - PPG Paints Arena (USA)
Sat June 08 2019 - ATLANTIC CITY New Jersey - Boardwalk Hall Arena - Boardwalk Hall (USA)
Sun June 09 2019 - CHARLOTTESVILLE Virginia - John Paul Jones Arena (USA)
Tue June 11 2019 - RALEIGH North Carolina - PNC Arena (USA)
Wed June 12 2019 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - Spectrum Center (USA)
Fri June 14 2019 - JACKSONVILLE Florida - Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (USA)
Sat June 15 2019 - MIAMI Florida - American Airlines Arena (USA)
Sun June 16 2019 - ORLANDO Florida - Amway Center (USA)
Tue June 18 2019 - BIRMINGHAM AL Alabama - Legacy Arena at The BJCC (USA)
Wed June 19 2019 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Smoothie King Center (USA)
Fri June 21 2019 - HOUSTON Texas - Toyota Center (USA)
Sun June 23 2019 - AUSTIN Texas - Frank Erwin Center (USA)
Tue June 25 2019 - OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma - Chesapeake Arena (USA)
Wed June 26 2019 - MEMPHIS Tennessee - FedExForum (USA)
Fri June 28 2019 - INDIANAPOLIS Indiana - Bankers Life Fieldhouse (USA)
Sat June 29 2019 - COLUMBUS Ohio - Nationwide Arena (USA)
Wed January 30 2019 - KIEV Palace of Sports (Ukraine)
Sat February 02 2019 - MOSCOW VTB Arena (Russia)
Mon February 04 2019 - ST PETERSBURG Ice Palace (Russia)
Wed February 06 2019 - HELSINKI Ice Hall (Finland)
Fri February 08 2019 - STOCKHOLM Ericsson Globe Arena (Sweden)
Sat February 09 2019 - OSLO Telenor Arena (Norway)
Mon February 11 2019 - COPENHAGEN Royal Arena (Denmark)
Tue February 12 2019 - HAMBURG Barclaycard Arena (Germany)
Thu February 14 2019 - BERLIN Mercedes-Benz Arena (Germany)
Fri February 15 2019 - LODZ Atlas Arena (Poland)
Sat February 16 2019 - PRAGUE O2 Arena (Czech Republic)
Sun February 17 2019 - VIENNA Wiener Stadthalle (Austria)
Thu February 21 2019 - BOLOGNA Unipol Arena (Italy)
Sat February 23 2019 - ZURICH Hallenstadion Zurich (Switzerland)
Sun February 24 2019 - STUTTGART Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle (Germany)
Mon February 25 2019 - COLOGNE Lanxess Arena (Germany)
Mon March 11 2019 - PARIS AccorHotels Arena (France)
Tue March 12 2019 - AMSTERDAM Ziggo Dome (Netherlands)
Wed March 13 2019 - BRUSSELS Palais 12 (Belgium)
Fri March 15 2019 - BILBAO Bizkaia Arena (Spain)
Sat March 16 2019 - MADRID WiZink Center (Spain)
Sun March 17 2019 - LISBON Altice Arena (Portugal)
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