Right There Next To You
Clancy - twenty one pilots (Newer Music Friday)
Occasionally when reading my old reviews, I wonder if I need to be more detached when I write. There’s this element of blasé cool that is often used in bigger publications, and those were the ones I look up to most, the reason why I started writing reviews in the first place. But I like to think that the way I write is hopefully more authentic, that I’m able to convey just how excited I am about the music I talk about, because these are songs that I genuinely really love. I don’t think that is more relevant than with today’s topic, which is the terrific album Clancy by Twenty One Pilots.
I went back and forth on even writing about this album. It came out last week, and I spent the day kind of dancing around it, just because it feels so personal and close to my heart. But man, as I’ve spent this week driving to it, running to it, listening to it almost nonstop, I figured that was a sign I might have to put my pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, more like)! I consider them to be one of my absolute favorite bands, a spot they’ve had since right before the lead-in to their 2018 album Trench, and so I was hooked from the second they released the teaser to the lead-in single for Clancy, “Overcompensate”. Then for all the other singles. Then for the livestream where they premiered the videos they had made for every song on the album (which is ridiculously cool). It’s really tough to choose just a couple tracks to talk about, but I’m just gonna go with my gut here!
I’d say that while “Overcompensate”, “Backslide”, and “The Craving” were all great songs, my favorite single had to be “Next Semester”. It has this amazing drive that keeps the head nods going all the way through. The drums are absolutely INSANE, a precise and hard-hitting constant throughout the song. I love the moments where it feels like the music is suspended in the air, when everything strips down for an echoey “ohh woahh ohh” that’s soundtracked by what sounds like guitar noise (but, per producer Paul Meany’s instagram, is actually a baritone ukulele after all!!). All this has a perfect payoff with a perfect example of a slow-down ending, where vulnerability shines bright in the dark.
Whenever I highly anticipate an album, I always listen from the beginning, even if the songs were already released. This helps me take in the collection as a whole, but also makes the first new, album-only song particularly exciting. Being from Ohio, I was excited for “Midwest Indigo” from the moment it was revealed on the tracklist, and man, it did not disappoint! It starts off with these mysterious underwater-sounding synths, which then transition to something that is more in tune with the bright sound to follow. The bass line in this one is particularly endearing, especially the way that it syncs near perfectly with the drums. I like how the vocals have a little bit of a break in the vocals, a sort of desperate sound that adds a cool detail. I love the little spoken interludes, mostly because they catch on so much that you can’t help but give at least a mumble of “two minutes” or “not yet” when they come along.
Another one that really got me was track 6, “Vignette”. I genuinely think there’s not a thing that should ever be changed about this song. It’s got one of the BEST intros I’ve ever heard, a heart-sinking chord progression into a crashing four notes to cricket-level silence to ANOTHER crashing four notes to bird sound to an incredibly satisfying lead-in to the main beat…. I could have just that on repeat forever and never get tired of it. The bass sound in this one is deep and lifting at the same time, the type that makes the song alive and right there next to you. The falsetto in the chorus is a terrific addition, something that makes the switch from that to the stronger voice even more raw and powerful. The subtle harmony addition with each chorus is something that I appreciate, something that they often do with their songs, and something I always love. After all that, there’s still one more thing that gets me in “Vignette”, and that’s the crazy keyboard breakdown in the middle, a moment that lasts for only a couple seconds but is certainly worthy of a jaw drop. Just a great song all around.
“Snap Back” is number 10 out of 13, and I personally think it deserves the world. I love the place its at, as the shock factor of going from the high-energy flotation of “Navigating” straight to this is something that just adds to its beauty. Beauty is the first word that came to mind as soon as I heard the first couple seconds, and something that has stuck with me as I’ve listened to it again and again. The bell-tone combined with a sound like ocean waves is absolutely gorgeous, and I like the calm that it gives before going into the main sound. I like that there’s the sound of a piano in the back, it just gives it this sense of authenticity that lends itself well to this one. The words are calculated and careful, measured phrases that are spoken as if they’ve been thought through but are being said for the first time, which make the higher, more strung-together moments seem more like the internal thoughts than the questions you ask out loud. “Snap Back” builds on itself, and those harmonies that are achieved in the middle of the song are some of the most earth-ascending that I’ve ever heard. The noise gets louder, and never fully goes away towards the end, something that I’m sure is intentional and makes this one really hit right in the heart.
Like I said, it’s tough to only choose a couple songs to write about. If I really gave all my thoughts on every song, this review would probably be longer than War and Peace. Every track has something special, and there are no skips on this entire album, as evidenced by my Spotify history this past week. All in all, I love this album with all my heart and I think it came at just the right time.
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