Album Review: Breach

The album cover of Twenty One Pilots most recent album "Breach".

Twenty One Pilots, who you more than likely know from their 2015 smash hit album, Blurryface have been around since the late 2000s is a band that has been a major part of this generation.

It’s impossible not to speak about music in the 2010s without mentioning their massive singles like Stressed Out, Heathens, and Ride. The band is more than just their biggest work; they've also put out other strong albums, such as 2018’s Trench and 2024’s Clancy. They are 8 albums in now, and one of the most well-established bands in today’s music, which brings us to their newest release, Breach.

Breach, which released on September 12th of 2025, has been being built up for a long time. I

began this review by mentioning Blurryface, but it is important to note that the overarching story told through these past albums dates back to their iconic 2015 release. Which, at its core, means this album is a full decade in the making. I would love to talk about that story, but that would require an entire article in itself. Dating all the way back to Trench, the band had previously teased said album(and the next era) with an eye slowly opening.

In 2017, they had that same eye close, which signaled a hiatus before the 2018 reveal of Trench.

Around the end of Spring in 2025, the eye began to close again. This, of course, led fans to believe a 2nd hiatus was taking place, but instead, on May 21st, the band would take to social media to announce the forthcoming album’s release date and its first single. On June 12th, they officially released the debut single of the new album, The Contract. The second single, Drum Show, was released nearly 2 months later on August 18th.

I’ll cut straight to the point... I really like this album. As a Twenty One Pilots fan, I was so

incredibly pleased with this album from start to finish. The intro song, City Walls is an incredible

tone setter for the rest of the album. The energy of the song is infectious, and I’m in love with

the instrumentation. The Chorus even makes subtle references to past themes used before in

older songs like “Semi-Automatic” and “Truce” from their 2013 album, and, specifically, in relation

to the sun and the moon and using them as a metaphor for both Hope and Fear, respectively.

RAWFEAR's incredibly catchy chorus has been stuck in my head for days.

Drum show, the 2nd single released before the album reminds me the most of the version of

Twenty One Pilots, I originally grew up listening to, around the time when Blurryface released.

Just off the vocal performances from Tyler and the way the chorus sounds. It gives me a feeling

of nostalgia, despite the fact that the song is new. Garbage is, well, the complete opposite of its

title. In which Tyler is singing about the struggles he is going through, claiming to feel like

garbage, and at one point is pleading “Don’t Give Up On Me”.

The Contract is one of my favorite songs on the entire project, with its fast pace and almost addictive drums throughout. I have probably played that song the most from this album. For as great as those faster-paced songs are, I understand some people may want variety, and this album appears to have that too. Songs such as Downstairs and Cottonwood both appeal to that and deliver a slower pace and a more somber sound, without resulting in anything close to a dip in quality. Impressive but also one of the significant strengths of this album, and the band itself.

This album's final three songs, the homestretch if you will, are probably the strongest on the album. Days Lie Dormant is a return to the upbeat tempo from earlier in the album and Tyler’s still incredible vocal performances. The lyrics by a selection of the community are interpreted to be towards Tyler’s wife, which makes it a fun, fast-paced love song. You follow that song up with Tally, with a powerful guitar as a significant part of the beat, woven perfectly between the drums and the electronic synth-like sounds. The beginning almost has a triumphant feeling with these combinations of sounds. The chorus, in a way, refers to the idea of not losing faith, even when times seem low, knowing that you’re not alone; “You want to love me, I'll let you down, Still now, you believe in me somehow”. And Tyler has a very impressive voice in the last minute of the

song that can’t go without mention.

And it closes with Intentions. A masterpiece. One of the most beautiful songs to have been

released this year. A close to the album and the story they have been telling for the last 10

years. A fan pointed out the following on a post: “When reversed, the instrumental,

“oohs, and even vocal melody of 'Intentions' are revealed to be that of 'Truce”. Released in 2013,

“Truce” is the closer of the band’s album Vessel, which also happens to have preceded Blurryface. Meaning, in a sense, that while “Truce” began twenty one pilots’ lore,

“Intentions” closes it, with the former hidden in the latter.”

When it comes to the lyrics of Intentions(albeit, there aren’t a lot of them), it’s an amazing

message to close an album with. The first verse’s lines are well-known to those who have been

trapped in a cycle. It is easy to have negative thoughts when seeing oneself begin a cycle over

again. The second verse parallels this thought with the speaker changing from “I” to “You.”

The line “Did you learn a thing?” may feel almost rhetorical, but if you view it differently, if you view it through a hopeful light, the entire meaning changes. Learning is a part of failing, and the

intentions behind this train of thought make all the difference. It’s not about failing; you will

always experience failure, but it’s about learning from it and continuing to try. To keep trying, you

have to hold tight to your true intentions and find the courage to begin again, even when you’ve

stumbled before. Don’t let the weight of past failures keep you from reaching for change once

more. No matter how many times you’ve fallen, your intentions can still carry strength and

purpose. For those caught in a repeating cycle, change rarely comes all at once it unfolds

slowly, piece by piece. But every honest effort, every sincere intention, matters. Those intentions

are seeds of transformation, and with time, they will grow. They will set you free.

This album meant a lot to me, and not just me now, but the me who grew up listening to

blurryface. It feels like the end of a journey, and in a way, it is. But what a beautiful album to

close that journey with. I can only imagine what is next for the band’s future., for the Alternative

genre, and for music in general. This is one of the strongest albums to have released and it’s

worth a listen to anyone who may have in any point in their life enjoyed the band’s music, as well

as people who may be less familiar. An incredible album, nevertheless.