Twenty One Pilots released their new album, “Trench,” their first album since 2015, on Friday, Oct. 5. This is their fifth album.

Twenty One Pilots, comprised of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, is known for their outspokenness and advocacy regarding mental health. This album continues their discussion on these important topics.

The album opens with the song “Jumpsuit,” which was released this summer as a single. The song is dark and continues a narrative started on their website about a character named Clancy who escapes from a walled city.

The chorus continues with this theme, as Joseph sings, “I can’t believe how much I hate pressures of a new place roll my way / Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me / I crumble underneath the weight / Pressures of a new place roll my way.” The jumpsuit is a reference to the jumpsuit that Clancy wears throughout the story. The lines about pressure feel relatable, regardless of the story.

The song starts out slow, but the build of the drums and guitar make the music especially impactful and engaging.

“Morph” is another poignant song from the album. It has a slightly different sound than their usual music, and deals with questions of life after death. It also continues the story of Clancy, and his struggles with the authorities of the fictional world, DEMA. The song discusses the group Nicholas Bourbaki, which is a group that tried to prove the existence of a god through mathematics. The different themes and references throughout the song make it deeply interesting.

With lyrics like “Can’t stop thinking about if and when I die / For now I see that ‘if’ and ‘when’ are truly different cries / For ‘if’ is purely panic and ‘when’ is solemn sorrow / And one invades today while the other spies tomorrow,” and “I’ll morph to someone else / A defense mechanism mode,” the song is clearly emotional and introspective while exploring themes that run through people’s lives.

While not a part of the overarching narrative of the album, “Legend” was a beautiful song about Joseph’s grandfather who passed away. The song is relatable for anyone suffering from an important loss in their lives. While the song musically sounds more upbeat than it is, it is heartbreaking, with lyrics like “You were here when I wrote this / But the masters and mixes / Will take too long to finish / To show you / I’m sorry I did not visit / Did not know how to take it / When your eyes did not know me / Like I know you.” The song is reminiscent of the 1975’s “Nana,” and has just an emotional strong impact as “Nana” does. The music of “Legend” has a retro feel, adding to the nostalgic feelings that the song conveys.

The music throughout the album carried Twenty One Pilots’ classic sound, without much deviation. When it sounded different than previous albums, it was successful. A more adventurous sound would have been a fun addition to the album, but overall the music still fit the album well.

Overall, I think the album is interesting and just as deep as their previous music. The probing questions that the album asks, as well as the mysterious story running throughout, make the album intriguing and worth the listen.

Rating: 4/5 stars