Reviewed by Philip Laing

Ohio's inventive duo Twenty One Pilots have been building and building a reputation for themselves since their formation in 2009. With this, their fourth album, they have hit the bigtime with 'Blurryface' debuting at number one on the US Album charts. The album uses the character of Blurryface to describe the insecurities that lead singer Tyler Joseph faces in his life. "Stressed Out" describes this theme extremely well with the chorus lyrics stating: "Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days/When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out." Many of the tracks stand out in this album with a variety of musical and lyric styles explored by Joseph. One of these is "The Judge" which features story-driven lyrics. It begins as a ukulele-driven track before more and more instruments are added to the song's arrangement. Some songs such as "Heavydirtysoul" feature a more hip-hop influenced vocal style. Not only does this album feature Joseph's skill in both rapping and singing but also the ever present drums of Josh Dun helping to create the duo's distinctive style. Although tackling the difficult issue of insecurity, the album is a skillfully focused and creatively executed set with the potential to make headway into the UK mainstream.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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