Clancy is caught, going through a visceral battle in his mind: "The Contract" follows the story that Twenty One Pilots have been developing and sharing with the world for almost a decade now, since the 2015 album Blurryface, and to say that it's still as captivating as ever is still an understatement.
The story and the lore aspects of "The Contract" are indeed intriguing; however, I intend to talk about the music itself, as difficult as it is to separate the song from the narrative. I believe there are people with far more expertise on the Twenty One Pilots lore than I, and so I wish to leave the story aspects to the story experts.
So, the track opens with a Linkin Park-esque intro while maintaining the signature Twenty One Pilots sound and quickly develops into the chorus, on which the vocal production is reminiscent of hyperpop production and sound. "I don't sleep much, that's crazy, how'd you know that?" The first line of the chorus is a nod to the theme of insomnia and the metaphor(s) of "sleep" that have been present in multiple songs throughout the albums, gluing and tying "The Contract" into the developing narrative of Twenty One Pilots' music. The guitars come in, and we get a short, tight rap verse before Tyler screams the pre-chorus in a way that reminds one of his famous "The Line" scream in the Game Awards live show. The chorus repeats, and we get a nice, flowing bridge before the pre-chorus and chorus come in again. The track is instrumentally very impressive in the way that it keeps shifting and changing and prevents the listener from getting bored. The outro closes the track with the haunting lines "I used to see, it felt so real, but now I plead, just take the deal, I promised you a contract," which leaves one wondering how many layers of meaning could be packed into these very simple words.
As a standalone outside the ongoing narrative, the track deals with struggles of mental health (which I think we're all more or less all too familiar with), which makes it very relatable and heartfelt. The "necromancer outside" could be a metaphor for all sorts of mental health issues: depression, anxiety, mood disorders, etc. The song is certainly open to interpretation.
As an opener for Breach, I think they have done a fantastic job setting the pace and the expectations for the upcoming album. I wouldn't call it the best track Twenty One Pilots have ever made, but it's definitely in my top 20.
You can watch the music video for "The Contract" below, and please do stream it on your preferred platform. It is certainly a ride worth taking.
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