Written by Tom Bedding
Following up your best record to date is hard, no matter who you are. Some experience a terrible come down and never recover. However, Twenty One Pilots ride this album with a colourful experience that is mostly really impressive.
The start of a bright day begins the new record by Twenty One Pilots, on 'Good Day', which has Tyler Joesph sounding amazing with his fine vocals. The piano led song feels like MIKA back in the day and the melody is backed with some slick production, which starts off this record in a really lovely fashion. However the lyrics does not match with the vibrant nature of the music, with the words tackling if you ever lose your friends and family….its a lighthearted take on the situation for sure.
‘Choker’ has a slight EDM and emo aesthetic to it, with its busy percussion section offering the only engaging moment of the song. Tyler’s vocals sounds like it is going through the motions sadly, yet the lyrics are taking ownership of your life and focusing, on making sure that you don’t choke in pivotal moments in your life. There are some great singles on this album but this track, does feel like its missing an ingredient that the other singles have.
The amazing single ‘Shy Away’ fits so wonderfully in this early stage of the record, it could be up there as one of their best offerings to date really. The duo want us to get out of our comfort zone with the lyrics, which is backed up with a very solid melody that builds up so well, with the two musicians giving their all to give us an encouraging anthem. The anticipation made by the synths and bass line is fantastic, which keeps going up the levels, as the song progresses and climax’s in such a great way.
Longterm fans of this Ohio based duo will enjoy ‘The Outside’, which gives us a decent groove and bass tones that so many enjoy from Twenty One Pilots. It may feel a bit basic for most of the first half of the song, with the production being stripped back and the melody not really offering much. However the song is given an extra punch thankfully later in the song, which allows the hook to really have enough to deliver something rather enjoyable.
credit: Ashley Osborn
Another impressive cut is ‘Saturday’ which takes a classic Maroon 5 ora to a level that maybe many wished they did at the start of the 2010’s. The mood of this song is so much fun with its ‘Saturday, Saturday, Saturday’ and ‘paint the town’ moments, that gives everything such a slight disco-soul tone (also Josh’s drumming) to the whole thing, showing off that this band are good at moulding into different genres. Lyrically, Tyler is singing to his wife about the potential idea that the touring life leads him feeling like everyday can be a Saturday and how that existence, could leave him in a state of nothingness. Don’t worry, you can still full in love with the songs groove and atmosphere.
’Never Take It’ is Twenty One Pilots looking at politics, in particular the misinformation that so many are believing in todays modern world. It’s a very poppy song, possibly taking inspiration by Primal Scream, with its choir mood in the chorus and bridge. ‘Never Take It’ is a very enjoyable track that follows the jolly and lighthearted sonics that is found on ‘Scaled and Icy’, which is great tone to experience after the heavy sounds on ‘Trench’. As the song finishes in a very epic way, Tyler sings about how they are trying to weaponise us with their misinformation and my oh my, it really gets in your head.
The pianos return on ‘Mulberry Street’ and really gives Twenty One Pilots a more traditional songwriting approach to their latest LP. It has a very good chorus and the stompy beat by Josh ensures this song has a great strut to it, in the verses. One noteworthy thing from this song, is when that awesome chorus comes along, it makes you click your fingers and sway your head from side to side, due to its proper joyous tone to it. Though, it would be even better to hear the band progress more than just slight trickles of extra substance (there’s a token sax on this song) to really make the listener go ‘wow’ with its boldness.
Pure indiness runs through ‘Formidable’, which feels a too much like The Cure at times…possibly a step too much? It does ring in your head as you listen to it and it is a real shame, as it could be a really decent cut on the record. Then the dilemma of ‘Bounce Man’.... how can you take the lighthearted nature of the sound in a way that it was intended? Despite the backing vocals being pleasant and Tyler singing nicely over this Gaye like melody, it feels a tad saturated at times and the bouncing moments feel a bit too sticky.
It is a real shame as we get to the final moments of the album, as we witness ’Scaled and Icy’ loosing its quality in very bizarre and odd ways. ‘No Chance’ could be a leftover from the bands amazing fifth album, ‘Trench’, which should have stayed as a left over from that impressive project. The beat and the vocal delivery is good but the mixing of it is too bloated and the deep tones of the backing vocals, leaves your thumb hovering over the skip button.
I don’t want to talk about how the last third of Twenty One Pilots latest album disappoints, as it mostly gives us so many great moments at the start. We are given a Greg Kurstan twist of the bands sound and that gives us a lot to enjoy, which I want to celebrate rather than talk about the last few songs. But with regards to the closer, ‘Redecorate’ takes us back to ‘Trench’ and again, it should have stayed as a leftover!! To conclude and move on from that negativity, Twenty One Pilots follow up their best album in very good form and in a very chameleon like fashion, with its mixture of sounds and genres that can be really enjoyable at times.
Bring Me The Music Recommended Songs: Shy Away, Saturday and Mulberry Street
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