Twenty One Pilots released their seventh album, Clancy, on May 24, 2024.[2] The visual album was intended to serve as the conclusion to the duo's decade-long conceptual series which began with Blurryface (2015), but its closing track "Paladin Strait" ended on a cliffhanger.[3] During the May 2025 dates of the Clancy World Tour, the band shared a series of cryptic clues and Easter eggs on their social media accounts that hinted at a continuation in the series.[4]
On May 21, 2025, the duo announced their eighth studio album, Breach,[5] which was released in September of that year.[6] Along with the album's announcement, they revealed the title of the lead single, "The Contract", and its release date, June 12.[7]
Composition
Sonically, "The Contract" is a track that combines elements of nu metal, emo, hip-hop and hyperpop, while not explicitly tying itself down to one or the other.[8][9][10][11] Lyrically, "The Contract" features seemingly anxious lyrics, in which the narrator fears a "necromancer " outside, and engages in paranoid activities, such as checking doors and windows and being sure to stay quiet.
Music video
An accompanying music video for "The Contract" was directed by Frédéric de Pontcharra and released the same day as the single.[12] The video continues immediately after the ending of "Paladin Strait" and features the duo performing erratically while surrounded by ambiguous entities with glowing red eyes.[13] It concludes with drummer Josh Dun handing frontman Tyler Joseph a coat, a visual echoed on Breach's album cover.[9]
Critical reception
Mix Vale praised "The Contract" as an "expansive" track and a "statement of intent" for Twenty One Pilots' next phase.[14]Rolling Stone's Kory Grow commended the song's eclectic production while describing it as a "total sensory assault."[9] In a less positive review, Paolo Ragusa for Consequence appreciated the band's dedication to their decade-long narrative and compared the song to Linkin Park's album Meteora, citing a "nu metal twist". However, he ultimately found "The Contract" to be "frankly atrocious."[8]
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