Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun makes his directorial debut in the just-released clip for the Columbus duo’s latest preview of their Clancy album, “Backslide.” The visual for the mid-tempo tune debuted on Thursday morning (April 25) and it finds singer Tyler Joseph tooling around town on his red and black BMX bike in what appears to be a Groundhog Day-type scenario.
When we join our hero — dressed casually in black pants a bomber jacket and t-shirt, with the now-ubiquitous Clancy-era rune-covered belt visible underneath — he is pulling up to a convenience store, where he dumps an empty plastic bag into a garbage can before going in and buying another bag of hamburger buns. Given the deep and sometimes confounding world-building the pair embark on for their album cycles you can be sure there are some important Easter eggs scattered all about, from the name of the quick-e-mart (Food Petrol Etc aka FPE), to the bun brand (Ned’s) and the colors of the bicycle.
The video mostly consists of Joseph riding down a suburban street with the buns hanging from his right hand as he rap/sings, “Rat race, place to place, adding weight/ Tendencies on repeat, innit?/ Benefit from a shoe with no lace/ Take the seat with the crease in it.” Joseph digs into the bag at one point, biting into the bland bread before tossing it aside as the song’s chorus comes around: “I don’t wanna backslide to where I started from/ There’s no chance I will shake this again/ ‘Cause I feel the pull, water’s over my head/ Strength enough for one more time.”
Not much else happens, other than a Stranger Things-style segment where Joseph appears to be transported to an alternate, dark universe where he rides his bike in a black void amid swirling leaves as well as a quick stop a child’s lemonade stand where the seemingly possessed grade schooler chants lyrics back to the singer.
The bike trip ends with Joseph pulling up to Dun’s house as the drummer flips burgers on a grill, only to realize he’s out of buns and has to return to FPE to get another bag as the visual swallows its own tail and goes back to the beginning.
In a video message to fans earlier this week, Joseph revealed that Clancy, originally scheduled for May 17, will be delayed a week to May 24 to allow the group to film videos for each of the collection’s 13 songs. “It’s because I love these songs and I believe in them enough to pretend to sing in front of a camera to each one,” he said. To date, 21P have released the singles “Overcompensate” and “Next Semester.”
Watch the “Backslide” video below.