"Opener "City Walls" is a five-minute litmus test, with gigantic "oh-woah" hooks, soaring choruses, fuzzy bass tones, overdriven drums, and yes, rapping. It's also pure fan service; the deeply ludicrous $1 million music video frequently calls back to past work and the song itself interpolates their single " Holding on to You." It's fascinating to hear a Christian-adjacent band reprise the words "entertain my faith" as the video depicts Clancy's submission to a religious cult,"
"Having once contributed to the Suicide Squad soundtrack, Pilots now convey the bubbly energy of James Gunn's Superman reboot. You don't need to know about the Bishops' necromancing powers to enjoy the frenetic snowboarding-game breakbeat and maniacal vocal processing of "The Contract." There are dumb-clever antics throughout: "Garbage" teases an uplifting " Something Just Like This" piano part before Joseph blurts out "I feel like garbage!" The song "Rawfear" speeds up on the line "never slowing down," then abruptly returns to the original tempo-because he can't escape the cycle."
A high-energy album opens with a five-minute track featuring massive hooks, soaring choruses, fuzzy bass, overdriven drums, and rapping while indulging in overt fan service and callbacks. The record alternates frenetic breakbeats, processed vocals, and playful sonic tricks across tracks like "The Contract," "Garbage," and "Rawfear," using tempo changes as narrative devices. Slower moments include a tribute to Joseph's grandfather on "Cottonwood" and the meditative closer "Intentions." An updated early demo, "Downstairs," feels out of place amid the buoyant production. Central motifs focus on faith-adjacent imagery and Joseph's complicated relationship with his fans.
Read at Pitchfork
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