Twenty One Pilots came out with their eighth studio album, Breach, on September 12th, 2025. This album marks the end of an era that began with their album Blurryface, which came out in 2015. Their following albums, Trench, Scaled and Icy, and Clancy, have followed and continued the lore of Twenty One Pilots and its band members, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph. This album comes as the last piece of that story and their final tour for some time, as Dun is having a baby (with another notable figure, Debby Ryan). This album review contains my thoughts on every song in Breach as someone whose favorite albums are Self-Titled, Vessel, a Regional At Best defender, and a fan of over 10 years.
- “City Walls”
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IMO, this is one of Twenty One Pilots’ best album openers. Only rivaled by “Jumpsuit,” a favorite among the fanbase. This opener brings us back to the city of Dema, which is from their fictional continent, Trench. The references to their other songs are astounding as a long-time fan. The line “from the mainland to the island of violence” is a reference to the line in “Migraine,” “Behind my eyelids are islands of violence.” After this, Joseph says he has been “Abandoned by the sun.” To me, this is a reference to “Truce” and the idea that we can always try again when the sun rises in the new day. However, the most obvious reference is to “Holding Onto You,” where Joseph repeats “Entertain my faith” over and over again, followed by “this is the last time that I try.” This song was so perfectly crafted to be hopeful and devastating at the same time. To end it off, “HeavyDirtySoul” begins as the song ends. The music video for this song was interesting. Being almost 10 minutes long and having a budget of $1 million, it was the conclusion I needed.
- “Rawfear”
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I absolutely love the beat of this song. It was clear to me that Josh Dun had a great time on the drums and put a lot into this. I love when his personality comes through in a song so clearly. This song reminds me of “Routines in the Night” from Clancy, as they are both catchy. However, like all Twenty One Pilots songs, it has a somewhat dark undertone. With lines like, “I could build a tower with the times I was pretending,” “try to micro-dose immunity, but I’ll never see the ending,” and “I wish her parents would stop yelling,” it’s hard to hide behind the upbeat vibe of the song.
- “drum show”
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Firstly, all rise, Josh Dun stans, this one is for you. This song is so fun — anyone who loves to feel music would do well to take a long drive and blast this through their speakers. Twenty One Pilots is one of the more ‘pop’ bands I listen to, so I appreciated this song for bringing me back to my ‘rock’ roots. Additionally, every time Dun sings, an angel gets their wings. This song would’ve been a great lead single, and I hope they include this on the set list for their upcoming tour.
- “garbage”
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While I love the whole album, I think this is my least favorite song. This could definitely change as I listen more, but I think it lacks the punch that a lot of other songs in this album have. My favorite line from this song is “Would you grow closer if I grew quieter / Maybe this is you / Maybe you don’t fix it, and you like it like this.” It feels reminiscent of trying to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.
- “the contract”
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This was the album’s lead single and was released ahead of the album. The drums are heavy, which feels like Dun is trying to tell us something (if you are following along with the storyline of the albums). I’ve had more time with this song than the others, and I think it still stands as an amazing song. The chorus is so strong and stands on its own regardless of anything else in this song. This song shows how versatile this band is as a whole.
- “downstairs”
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With this album only being out for a week, this is my favorite song. As someone who loves Regional at Best, it is so reminiscent of their early work. This song feels like Joseph put his heart into it. It calls back to his religious background — many people don’t realize that Twenty One Pilots is a religious band. He says, “I wear all of my heart on my sleeve / I’ll take what I believe, and I’m hidin’ it / Feeling like I’m nothing, feeling like I’m run down / Was afraid of nothing, now I’m ashamed how / I hide my face from you / so I’m begging oh mercy.” While I am not religious, this seems to show how Joseph is ashamed of how he has acted and has hidden himself from religion, or God as a whole, because of those actions. He then begs for mercy when he decides he can’t hide any longer. He says, “Oh, what have I become? / Dirty and a wretched one / Am I unholy land? / Have I forced your hand? / Oh mercy.” Joseph is directing these questions, not to the audience, but to a higher power. I have endless interpretations of this song.
- “robot voices”
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This song shifts from “Downstairs” to hopeful and fun. I love this song, especially as someone who went through a breakup this year. I think I missed a lot of undertones in this song, but would it be a Twenty One Pilots song if there wasn’t nuance? I’ve seen speculation that it’s about AI, but I don’t think a song about AI would be this upbeat and happy.
- “center mass”
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After my first listen, I immediately fell in love with this song. It reminds me of “Guns for Hands,” not in the beat, but in the lyrics. Joseph is admitting that everyone struggles and aims for the parts that hurt the most. He describes trying to become small and being anxious from an early age. He depicts how he lies to everyone that he has it all figured out (presumably his mental health). I think anyone who has ever struggled with their own mental health has done this, told someone they were alright and had it all figured out, only to have known deep down that they needed help. This song feels so deeply personal, almost like a diary entry we weren’t meant to see. Then, out of nowhere, he screams, “Found out what I’m worth, I run to you / I hope you understand this run-on sentence / my tattoos only hurt when meaning fades.” This is possibly referring to his religious tattoos. The most heartbreaking line comes after this, where he says, “I don’t wanna say what happened, I just wanna let it go,” and “I miss you so, so much, take what you want / take what you want from me, took you for granted.” Nobody wants to talk about their struggles; everyone wants to forget it happened. If you lost someone in the process, it’s even worse because you just want them back. This song is devastating and in your face in a way that a lot of their songs aren’t.
- “cottonwood”
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Joseph wrote this song after his grandfather died. After knowing that, this song has a completely different listening experience. He discusses how he doesn’t remember the last time they spoke, how he’s looking back in time, and how his reflection is looking back at him. The bridge is devastating. Anyone who has lost a family member close to them can relate to this song and the subtle sadness that comes with living every day without them.
- “one way”
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To me, this song is Joseph thinking about his fame. Being from Ohio and creating a vaguely religious alternative band, he likely did not expect to reach the level of fame and notoriety he has. This song is definitely a fan favorite. Not to be forgotten, the transition from “One Way” to “Days Lie Dormant” was an exciting first listen.
- “days lie dormant”
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Dun was right, this is a vibe change. To me, this song is about how Joseph doesn’t like to be away from his wife, Jenna, for extended periods of time. However, I could be completely misreading this song. I think it is more ambiguous than a lot of the other songs on the album. Joseph also puts a love song to Jenna on most of his albums.
- “tally”
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If you’re following the lore the band has built up to this point, I think this song is a commentary on the “City Walls” music video. Spoilers for that video ahead: we know that Joseph is no longer Clancy and joins the bishops. Dun then says that they will try again because there is another Clancy out there. This song feels like Joseph talking to his friends and family after he feels he has done something wrong. He says they still believe in him, somehow. He can see their hearts break, but they still believe in him. They want the tally; he’s lost count. Joseph says, “I figured you were keepin’ track of every time / I let you down, I breached your trust.” He thinks his friends and family are tired of him and keep a tally of all the times he’s messed up. But they don’t, they still believe in him. This song is a reminder that when people love and care for you, they don’t care how often you mess up — they will still care for you at the end of the day.
- “intentions”
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First thing I noticed was that the melody is “Truce” backwards. (If you follow the lore, this confirms cycle theory to me.) This song has the same feeling as “Truce” — of being alone and hopeful, of not knowing what to do but knowing you need to do something, of not knowing how to ask for help but knowing you need it. It is the perfect album closer to their last album for an unknown amount of time. Tyler sings, “You will fail most every day and every way / Did you learn a thing?” Listening to the album in order, it feels like a call back to Tally. That you know you will fail, but you have to learn from it. You will lose your mental health battles some days, but you have to grow and come back. Every day is a win because the sun will rise, and you will get the chance to try again.
Breach is one of my favorite albums by this band, and I don’t think it’s just because of recency bias. There are so many callbacks to their older music. This album feels like a true love letter to the fans. Some of the songs are upbeat and hopeful, while others are devastating. To see this band mature while I’ve grown up has been surreal. The first time I saw them live was in 2016 when I was 13. I’ve seen them three times since then, and I have tickets to two shows on their upcoming tour. When this album came out, many fans thought it would be about defeating your mental health struggles, me included. The albums they’ve released since Blurryface have led up to this. When the album came out, it was really about how you can never beat your mental health struggles. All you can do is fight every day to be better. You can make a Breach. They named the album to describe how every time you fight back, you get a little bit better. Even though Joseph has a wife, kids, and a successful career, he still struggles with the same issues we all do. All any of us can do is try to lean on those close to us and make tiny breaches every day.