I’ve been a huge fan of American alternative rock/electropop/hip hop duo Twenty One Pilots since learning about them in early 2015, and they’ve remained my favorite musical act for the past 10 years. Still based in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio, the band is comprised of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer/percussionist Josh Dun. I think they have one of the most unique sounds of any act in existence today, and with a few minor exceptions, virtually all of their musical output has been brilliant. Their 2015 masterpiece Blurryface is one of my all-time favorite albums, and spent 276 consecutive weeks – more than five years! – on the Billboard 200 Album chart. It ultimately racked up over 300 weeks on that chart.

Their beautiful and cinematic song “The Line”, from the Season 2 Soundtrack of the Netflix animated action-adventure series Arcane: League of Legends, ascends to the top of my chart this week. The song is about Viktor, one of the main protagonists of the Arcane series, and plays in the 8th episode of season 2. The song is thought to be about crossing “the line” by disappointing loved ones and turning them into enemies, represented by Viktor’s decision to give up his humanity to save humanity, while others think it’s essentially about crossing from life to death. Whatever it’s about, I love it, and it’s their 12th song to reach #1 on my chart, following “The Craving”, which spent three weeks on top this past August and September. “The Line” is also their second song from a film soundtrack, their previous being “Heathens”, which was included on the motion picture soundtrack to the DC Comics 2016 film Suicide Squad.

In other noteworthy chart news, the marvelous “So Cold” by Balu Brigada moves into second place, while “She Wants To Go Dancing” by Mt. Joy and “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims enter the top 10. There are two debuts again this week, the first of which is the powerful “Straight to the Ground” by Northern Ireland-based rock band Unquiet Nights (which I reviewed on January 31st), entering at #29, and “Walls”, a captivating track by English singer-songwriter Frank Joshua (which I featured in a Fresh New Tracks post on February 1st), coming in at #30.

1. THE LINE – Twenty One Pilots (4)
2. SO COLD – Balu Brigada (3)
3. ARROW – The Head and The Heart (1)
4. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (2)
5. AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society (5)
6. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves (6)
7. DETROIT – Badflower (7)
8. SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez (8)
9. SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy (11)
10. BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims (13)
11. DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton (14)
12. AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten (15)
13. PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender (17)
14. IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers (9)
15. IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire (20)
16. SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks (12)
17. HERE WE GO AGAIN – Set the Tone (21)
18. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert (22)
19. RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons (27)
20. BOBBY SOX – Green Day (10)
21. GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings (16)
22. NEVERENDER – Justice & Tame Impala (18)
23. WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico (26)
24. METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant (28)
25. SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers (29)
26. DARKERSIDE – David Kushner (23)
27. WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School (30)
28. ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT – twenty one pilots (19)
29. STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights (N)
30. WALLS – Frank Joshua (N)