And I care what you think. &nsbp;
Indie pop outfit 21 pilots have always been pretty ingrained in the mainstream and underground music culture. Although not in the same vein as bands like My Chemical Romance and Suicide Silence, the result of their act has definitely produced a similar result. One can only wait until 21 pilots comes to their city and plays a show that inquires people to buy the shirt, so as to signify that “Yeah I’ve been there” alongside the other 10 billion people that also got the tour shirt. Fundamentally, 21 pilots is a pop group, which can be seen in great detail on their new album: BLURRYFACE. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a hard album to listen through, and it’s not very rewarding in the long run. The track listing works well as a radio hit list yet otherwise the actual listening from beginning to end can be straight up boring, groan worthy even.
Chords in an order that is new.
Genre Hopping isn’t a practice I enjoy in music. Most of the time I look at it as feigned creativity. merging between styles (even in the same song) isn’t common practice, but it is common knowledge you can do it, and it’s fairly easy to. It’s a lot like changing scales you know? 21 pilots and their genre hopping does get pretty drastic even still. turning from verse to Chorus to a weird hip-hop/reggae bit. There’s talent in that respect… Yet the formula feels too used as you go through the LP. Particularly the use of reggae, possibly with the fake Jamaican accent in some of these hooks it can come off as droll. “wake up you need to make money” makes me groan infinitely every time I hear that hook.
BLURRYFACE as a concept album definitely works, but can it be separated from simply a band’s first experiment, to a formed idea as seen on albums like Kid A or ITAOTS? Unfortunately that doesn’t appear to be the case. The words are sung yet the stresses aren’t felt. BLURRYFACE is definitely the focal point as a character but the lyrical output is too improvised and shallow to make the concept something to think and understand. The ending is supposedly sad but it’s more of a tease if anything.
I think the grandest problem that BLURRYFACE produces for me is my inability to say anything about it. I can appreciate the bits and pieces that it throws at me, but the flavour is bland. The songs when listened to with a careful ear just come off as weightless and meaningless. The vocal delivery is just “white”, and as musicians it really feels like they don’t get it. The problem is that these are immature artists stuck in debut limbo. nothing to show, and nothing defined.
Verdict
The songs are of course, catchy. The chorus’s and sometimes the verses can be fun and “singalong-ish”. BLURRYFACE is vibrant and shining occasionally… Yet what it doesn’t deliver on is a “full” album. It doesn’t deliver as something really memorable, even if some of these choruses are great. It doesn’t deliver on anything you’d find important. the biggest complaint I’d have, is that I won’t remember these songs when I’m done this review. 5/10