CLOSR Music

  “Welcome back to Trench” are the first words of the duo's song "Overcompensate" from their seventh studio album, Clancy. While many fans hoped for a Trench 2.0, Clancy couldn't be further from it if it tried. The ‘Dema’ story line has been a fixture in Twenty One Pilots’ music since 2018’s Trench. Listeners are willingly thrown into a narrative where the main protagonist, Clancy—revealed to be Tyler Joseph at the start of this album cycle—attempts to escape a fictional dystopia called Dema. This story line is largely a metaphor for Tyler’s mental health. It's easy to empathise with Tyler, who began this story line as a relatively young man. Fast forward eight years, and after a global pandemic, a wedding, and fatherhood, continuing this dystopian narrative was always going to be challenging. One of the highlights of this album is "Next Semester," which genuinely gave me severe whiplash in the best way possible (Hey kid, get out of the road!). From hea...

Billie Eilish has listeners on puppet strings. One moment I’m rocking out like Iron Maiden headlining Download Festival, the next I’m drowning in tears as deep as the English Channel. Honestly, being a puppet on a string isn’t always a bad thing, is it? (Mr. Alex Turner) ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ is the third studio album from the 22-year-old artist, and calling it a bold collection of songs is an understatement. Whilst each song sounds different, there is a wonderful sense of cohesion throughout the 10-track album. If ‘Black Mirror’ was an album, it would be ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT .’ Eilish shows real growth, lyrically drawing on her positive and negative life experiences. From ‘CHIHIRO's’ EDM-inspired synths to ‘THE GREATEST's’ rock vibe, ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ feels like a celebration of Eilish's successful career so far. It’s easy to put some artists in boxes, but Eilish completely ‘buries a friend’ with this stereotype. Billie Eilish is a trailblazer in the music industry,...