Twenty One Pilots
Blurryface
(Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic)
"If only Keane did a bit more rapping" said no one ever, not even when Twenty One Pilots bounced off a crystal-clear piano riff into a motormouth torrent of words. "If only Muse were a couple of lads from Columbus, Ohio" said no one again, right at the point where Tyler Joseph got carried away with his own vocal eccentricities, leaping octaves like an operatic superstar.
Joseph is a remarkable frontman, even if he does sometimes chew his vowels like bubblegum. His astonishing voice and rapping ability, coupled with Josh Dun's hefty beats, made Twenty One Pilots one of the most talked-about live bands of recent years. His uniqueness is very possibly the key reason why the band are now signed to a major label.
But Blurryface is a disappointment after 2013's Vessel. Vessel mashed musical genres into a thrilling and unpredictable stew; Blurryface separates them out in an attempt to secure wider commercial appeal - some flaccid reggae here, some dance-tent production muscle there. And so a coherent album has been sacrificed for what will undoubtedly become a steady drip of singles.
Sparks of natural brilliance still manage to burst through - this band's energy is too boisterous to contain - but they're dampened by the studio bombast.
Alan Morrison
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