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The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.

Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.

Twenty One Pilots

[#] Trench (2018)

Reviewed October 28, 2018

They managed not to dig a hole this time, ironically.

Twenty One Pilots is a group I've never quite gotten the fuzzies for. Between their overly-earnest and childish lyrics betraying some genuine talent on the mic from frontman Tyler Joseph and their complete inability to make genrehopping between rap, rock, white people reggae, electronica, and singer-songwriter balladry into a cohesive sound, I've never been part of the Clique, so to say. The recent release of Trench certainly gives me an excuse to rant about them, but what I got when I started digging was a record that deeply conflicted me. Much improved from Blurryface, absolutely, but old habits die as hard as the suicides we apparently romanticize (more on that later). All I can say is bring good headphones and a skip button.

Ostensibly a concept album about escaping totalitarianism, Trench sees the duo finally grasp the art of subtlety. Opener "Jumpsuit" features razor bass and a limber groove, lyrically easing into the concept with the emotions packed neatly around the edges. The record is their first to sound truly cohesive, managing to merge all the rapping and synths like the duo couldn't before. The problem comes with "Neon Gravestones". Lyrically obtrusive, it drops A Very Serious Message on your toes like a frozen turkey, and while later cuts like "Cut My Lip" pick the pace back up, you're reminded that Twenty One Pilots have their reputation for a reason. Still, Trench is a sign of growth—no small feat for the guys that ride oversized tricycles in their music videos.

Essential:	Quintessential:	Non-Essential:	Rating:
"Jumpsuit", "Morph", "Cut My Lip"	"Nico and the Niners"	"Neon Gravestones"

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