Twenty One Pilots dropped”Choker,”  the second track off their upcoming sixth studio album Scaled and Icy, due out next month.  

Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun released the “Choker” single and companion music video at the stroke of midnight Friday.

The single sounds surprisingly upbeat for a song that features dark and pensive lyrics about facing the consequences of your actions because no one’s there to bail you out.  

“I don’t bother anyone/ Never make demands/ Chokin’ on the circumstance/ Self-sabotage is a sweet romance/ 
Seems like all I’m worth is what I’m able to withstand/ Sooner I can realize that pain is just a middleman,” the rockers sing in the second verse.

The song ends with Josh ending with a metaphor about pulling out a splinter and that “it hurts a little less” when it’s up to you to get it out or accidentally “push it further in.”

As for the music video, Josh wanders into a magical toy shop that Tyler owns and takes a special interest in a blue dragon figurine. 

Tyler ignores his customer and, instead, pulls a drum set out of nowhere and starts playing as his dog looks on unamused.

As Josh walks away, a blue light catches his attention and he realizes that the dog was turned into a figurine.  He then steals the dragon toy but, unfortunately, is captured by Tyler and is turned into a bobblehead doll.

Scaled and Icy is due out May 21. The duo previously released the album’s lead single, “Shy Away”, which is available for streaming and digital purchase now.

The band will celebrate the release of Scaled and Icy with their first streaming concert event, also premiering May 21.

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