The moment has finally come – the new era of Twenty One Pilots has arrived. On June 12th, the Ohio-based duo made up of singer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, released their latest single ‘The Contract’ from their upcoming, highly-anticipated eighth full-length record ‘Breach’, which was announced after an array of cryptic posts, secret messages, hidden countdowns, and a very special bit of performance during their final night on the “Clancy World Tour” in London in late May (check out our in-depth review of the mind-bending show here).
While, from a visual perspective, the striking music video, directed by Frédéric De Pontcharra, picks up where the video for ‘Paladin Strait’ left off in a whirlwind of cinematic camera swings, swishes of red and black, and the two musicians giving their absolute all; musically, ‘The Contract’ encompasses simply everything that makes Twenty One Pilots who they are. Written by Joseph alongside long-time collaborator Paul Meany, chart-topping punk master Yungblud, and producer Matt Schwartz, the intricate track takes its listeners on a trip down memory lane of all of Twenty One Pilots’ past eras, featuring a zigzag of classic pop notes, a blazing rap and trademark emo screams from Joseph, synth lines that remind of the band’s ‘Regional At Best’ years, and thunderous drum beats by Dun that pay homage to the fan-favorite ‘heavydirtysoul’ from their historical album ‘Blurryface’, which also celebrated it’s ten-year anniversary earlier last month (check out this incredible mix of both songs here).
From the very first sound that reaches the ears, the rollercoaster-like song twists and turns in every direction, never stopping for even a second to give the audience a break to breathe, always staying on an absolute energy high. Punchy and addictive in just the right ways, ‘The Contract’ is everything Twenty One Pilots’ fans could have wished for and more, while it offers a first peek behind the curtain of their new record, set for a drop in September (sources are claiming it will be the 5th, but nothing has been officially confirmed by the duo yet).
Looking at it from the perspective of the lore – which, at this point, comes hand in hand with the band’s music, with one feeding into the other and vice versa -, the stellar hit talks about the deal between Clancy (portrayed by Joseph) and the Torchbearer (portrayed by Dun) in light of the fight against the bishops and the city of Dema, while the music video depicts what happens in Clancy’s mind as he is getting seized by the bishop Nico (aka Blurryface, the antagonist in the story). Both Joseph and Dun are seen in new outfits, with Joseph now having swapped the red tape on his shoulders with the Clancy stole, and Dun jumping back into the role of Spooky Jim, red eyeshadow included. Visually, the astounding video showcases the two friends as nothing short of absolute rock icons – Dun hitting his drums like there is no tomorrow and Joseph coming up with about fifty different ways of how to jump off a drum set and swing his stunning red electric guitar and red mic and its cord around his neck and arms.
From start to finish, it’s a jaw-dropper piece of visual art and quite possibly their most beautiful music video yet, while it offers just the perfect amount of easter eggs and little bits of lore hints to keep the minds of their uber-engaged fanbase churning. We see ranks of dark bodily forms with glowing red eyes, which, in relation to the story, could be a depiction of all of the earlier versions of Clancy, all of which failed to win the fight against Blurryface. And then there is the Torchbearer with the red eyeshadow, planted into Clancy’s vision while he is being seized to further break his will and strength. The video then moves to the scene many fans have now grown familiar with after its climactic live performance at the band’s last show in London – the Torchbearer holding up the jacket to Clancy, who merely looks at it, slowly turning his body away (note the piano track playing in the background which was also featured on their tour). One cut later we find ourselves once more at the exact moment that ‘Paladin Strait’ finished on – Clancy being held by the neck by Blurryface while he opens his eyes and looks at him. And then it ends, still on the same nail-biting cliffhanger that we found ourselves stuck at a year ago.
Since then, the band has stayed more or less radio-silent on all socials following the release of ‘The Contract’ and the numerous cryptic tweets by Blurryface, and video teasers posted on the band’s accounts. With the additional US leg of the tour – titled “The Clancy Tour: Breach” – which just finished its pre-sale yesterday and will hopefully include more tour dates outside of America in 2026, it has already been confirmed by Joseph in an interview with Zane Lowe that ‘Breach’ will truly conclude the saga the two-piece has been telling and sharing with their fans for longer than a decade. And while we don’t know where the story will be taking us as of yet, one thing has become clearer than ever – this has been the journey of a lifetime, and we truly can’t wait for one more spin.
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Fabien Kruszelnicki
GEM Magazine 