ACL Fest 2015 Saturday Record Review

Twenty One Pilots

Blurryface (Fueled by Ramen)

ACL Fest 2015 Saturday Record Review

For six years, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun have accomplished something unthinkable: vaguely Christian, quasi-emo, singer-songwriter pop-rap that works. On fourth LP Blurryface, the Ohioans maintain the miraculous mixture while grappling with pop viability. "Honest, there's a few songs on this record that feel common/ I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin'," spits Joseph in dancehall-ish single "Lane Boy." The "Fairly Local" beat recalls Drake and "Doubt" employs heavy Auto-Tune, but these aviators rock honest love on "Tear in My Heart" and inspire equality with "The Judge." Not the clever cut of 2013's Vessel, but still airborne. (4:30pm, Samsung Galaxy stage)

***

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle  

READ MORE
More Music Reviews
Review: Holy Wave, <i>Five of Cups</i>
Review: Holy Wave, Five of Cups
Five of Cups (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Sept. 1, 2023

Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, <i>Emergency Leisure</i>
Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, Emergency Leisure
Emergency Leisure (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Aug. 4, 2023

More by Kevin Curtin
The Austin Chronic: Mobile Head Shop the Glassmith Puts Down Roots
The Austin Chronic: Mobile Head Shop the Glassmith Puts Down Roots
The Glassmith graduates to brick-and-mortar

June 28, 2024

Austin Chronic: The Many Crusades of Adam Reposa
Austin Chronic: The Many Crusades of Adam Reposa
Months after being raided, lawyer continues to taunt the courts, the cops, and Ken Paxton

June 14, 2024

KEYWORDS FOR THIS STORY

Twenty One Pilots, ACL Fest 2015

MORE IN THE ARCHIVES
One click gets you all the newsletters listed below

Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events

Keep up with happenings around town

Kevin Curtin's bimonthly cannabis musings

Austin's queerest news and events

Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news

Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin.   Support the Chronicle