By Dori Berman
The first time I listened to the band Twenty One Pilots, I was 11 years old. I was alone in my room, headphones on, trying to drown out a world that made me feel so alone. Anxiety and doubt kept me awake at night. They were feelings I didn’t have a name for yet, what everyone around me told me was “classic angsty, pre-teen behavior.” Suddenly, a voice came through my headphones that seemed to speak all of my thoughts into words.
That voice belonged to Tyler Joseph, the singing and songwriting half of Twenty One Pilots. He was singing “Stressed Out” alongside drummer Josh Dun. Yes, there are only two of them, not 21. Joseph’s lyrics felt as if they were written just for me, articulating the fear and confusion that I felt.
The song “Stressed Out,” from Twenty One Pilots’ fourth studio album Blurryface, introduces the eponymous character “Blurryface,” a personification of insecurities and self-doubt. Played in music videos by Joseph himself, “Blurryface” is characterized by glowing red eyes, a deep voice and black paint on his hands and neck, which represents the insecurities he has surrounding his art and the suffocating feeling that comes with anxiety and depression. Through songs like “Stressed Out” and “Ride,” which discuss themes of finding meaning in life as well as the anxieties surrounding growing up, Joseph managed to give a face and name to the inner demons that haunt so many of us.
The release of Blurryface in 2015 marked Twenty One Pilots’ shift from simply producing standalone albums to creating an entire mythos of albums where their music and visuals come together to tell a story about identity and resilience. Their next album, Trench (2018), centers around a dystopian city known as Dema, which represents the feeling of entrapment that often comes with depression. Characters like Clancy and the Torchbearer represent anyone trying to break free from that oppressive feeling, and the guiding light that is friendship and strength, while Nico — the leader of Dema — represents inner self-doubt and insecurities. The closing track “Leave the City” captures the essence of hope that is woven throughout the album: “But this year, though I’m far from home / In Trench I’m not alone / These faces facin’ me / They know / They know / What I mean.” These lyrics resonated deeply with me. To me, they were a reminder that no matter how dark and despairing life may feel, you are never alone.
The narrative continued with Scaled and Icy in 2021. At first glance, the album is deceptively lighthearted. The catchy beats and brighter production of songs like “Good Day” and “Shy Away” make the album easily mistakable as “happier” than Twenty One Pilots’ previous work. However, lurking underneath are themes of isolation and forced positivity. Scaled and Icy was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, communicating Joseph’s inner struggle with the national lockdown and being unable to tour. This is reflected in the overarching lore as Clancy — who escaped Dema and the oppression of its leaders, the Bishops, in Trench —is dragged back into the city and forced to create the album as propaganda for the Bishops. This journey represents the way Joseph found himself reverting to unhealthy coping mechanisms, and masking pain with false cheer. Scaled and Icy is itself a mask, shiny and upbeat on the surface, but fragile underneath.
After Scaled and Icy, Twenty One Pilots returned with Clancy in 2024. The album dives straight back into the Dema narrative, following Clancy’s further attempts to escape the Bishops. Musically, it is a blend between the edgy, raw feeling of Blurryface and the upbeat sound of Scaled and Icy. Throughout the album, there is a feeling of tension in the lyrics that mirrors Clancy’s struggle of needing so badly to escape, yet feeling so far from that goal. He fears that if he falls back into his old habits, he will never be free. The line “I don’t wanna backslide to where I’ve started from / There’s no chance I will shake this again,” from the song “Backslide,” perfectly captures Clancy’s fear of relapse. Every song on Clancy feels like a step towards freedom, but Dema and the Bishops linger in the shadows, making it feel so out of reach.
Finally, last month, the band released their most recent album, Breach. After ten years of the lore as we know it, Breach brings the narrative to a close. From the opening track “City Walls” to the final song “Intentions,” motifs, callbacks and echoes of the entire band’s discography are threaded throughout. One of the most striking moments where this occurs is in “City Walls.” While the song references songs from throughout the entire multi-album narrative, it is the final notes of the track that really stand out. The song ends with the opening to “Heavydirtysoul,” the first song on Blurryface, where everything began.
This reprise is more than just a nostalgic nod to an older song; “City Walls” is the end and the beginning of the cycle that Twenty One Pilots has been exploring for a decade. The music video for “City Walls” depicts Clancy failing to defeat Dema’s leader Nico and instead donning his cape, losing himself and becoming the new Blurryface. All of this may seem bleak. Why, after so many years of fighting, does Clancy lose? Wasn’t this supposed to be a story about hope and recovery?
At the very end of the music video, the Torchbearer refuses to mourn Clancy. He says, “That’s not Clancy up there anymore. He’s out there somewhere, and we will try again.” He then goes off to find the new Clancy. Clancy is not a character, not a person, but rather the embodiment of all of us, all of our struggles. Every time Clancy falls back into the cycle, he comes back, each time with more strength and knowledge of how to fight against his inner demons. This Clancy may not have been able to escape Dema, but he will try again.
Breach may end this ten-year-long story, but it does so with a powerful message. It’s a reminder that mental health is not linear. The cycles of doubt, relapse and growth are always occurring, but each time the cycle repeats, it brings with it more strength and hope. For longtime listeners like me, who grew up with the band, the conclusion to this story brings more than closure. It is a reflection, a mirror for our own experiences. Setbacks are part of the journey, hope and despair coexist and even when it seems like a never-ending uphill battle, it is possible to keep moving forward. Twenty One Pilots has left us with the message that while the struggle may continue, so does the fight, and we are never truly alone.
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