"Scaled and Icy" - Twenty One Pilots Review

     Columbus based pop-rock group Twenty One Pilots released their new full-length album Scaled and Icy on May 21st, 2021. Before I get into these reviews, I need to preface this by saying I've been a fan since Vessel came out in 2013. While they have gone through many stylistic changes since then, this might be the most drastic difference between two albums. 2018's Trench was more in the realm of rap/rock. This album could easily be described as pop-rock. Let the record show, I have not had time to listen multiple times nor have I been able to analyze lyrics. Anyways, let's get into the songs.

Good Day

    The opening track of this album sets a pretty solid tone for the rest of it. It's upbeat, poppy, happy sounding. Now, I know Twenty One Pilots is notorious for hiding sad or dark meanings behind happy songs, but I don't know if this is one of those cases. It's a strong opener, though. I liked the majority of it, but I know this album is going to be an acquired taste for veteran fans.

Choker

    I mentioned that the group is known for their upbeat songs with dark meanings. Track two is pretty on brand on that end. The song seems to delve into the idea of anxiety as a sabotages something one cares about. This anxiety thing is a topic that singer Tyler Joseph has never shied away from. He's never been secretive about his anxiety and uses it as a lot of his writing motivation, which I expect. This kind of feels like old Twenty One Pilots to me.

Shy Away

    Speaking of shying away, here's track number three: "Shy Away". This song starts with a much more electronic sound than we're used to for a basic intro. Usually when the group uses electronic introductions to songs, it's something dramatic (see: "Fairly Local"). This one's kind of actually upbeat once again, and seems to be stemming from a situation in which Joseph is asking someone to open up to him. This ranks higher as one of my more liked lyrics from the album, but the sound just isn't my thing. This does not mean it's bad by any means, just not my cup of tea.

The Outside

    Yet another electronic intro. However, this one is more reminiscent of "Lane Boy" to me. The lyrics to this one revolve around monotony in life and possibly themes of dissociation. This is rather on brand for the things Joseph writes about. While I enjoy this song, it's definitely one of the weaker ones so far. The first two minutes are rather repetitive, and the only seemingly differing moment is the little bridge-rap Joseph does. 

Saturday

    This is a more fun sounding song off the opening. Once again, it deals with a sad theme. This time, we're talking about the anxiety involved in possibly losing someone because of growing apart. One thing I've noticed is that this album has a lot more gang vocals on it, and that seems to be the biggest stylistic change from the past few albums. I do like that this features a small section with Tyler's wife, Jenna, and it's kind of cute. One of the more fun songs, but I'm not really impressed still.

Never Take It

    Track number six. We have some electric guitar in this, which I'm really liking. In one recurring line, Joseph mentions he learned guitar in the summer or something like that. Maybe he's referencing the first summer of COVID-19, and he was isolated at home and decided to pick up another instrument. This one also has a guitar solo which we haven't seen yet from a TOP song. It's not a face-melter, but it fits the song and is 100% better than the one in Sublime's "What I Got". This is my current favorite, as we also have a scream from Joseph hidden in there.

Mulberry Street

    Joseph is back on his favorite piano. "Mulberry Street" is kind of reminiscent of "The Run and Go" from their Vessel album, and I say that as a good thing. It's good background music. It's a summer feel-good song, which is not their usual route with writing. Definitely ranked higher on my list, but it really seems like we can't have one good upbeat Twenty One Pilots song without a sad underlying meaning.

Formidable

    "Formidable" is a very alt/indie sounding song. I say this because the first few seconds made me think of "I've Been Waiting" by Briston Maroney. That's not a bad thing as this seems to be the direction the band is going. This is another good, sweet, song. A lot of the songs they've released in the past few albums have similar feelings, as this one kind of connects with "Smithereens" from Trench, in my opinion.

Bounce Man

    I don't know what to say off the first five seconds. I think there's clarinet in it? If that's clarinet, then I'm surprised and impressed. This whole album has had such a similar vibe between the songs, and I don't know how to feel about it. The same vocal effects and drum triggers kind of get old after some time, but that clarinet is a very nice addition.

No Chances

    Okay, the intro reminds me of "Fairly Local" right off the bat. This track delves more into Trench territory with the rapping, but still throws that new flair in there. This may be my dark horse in the running now, as I really think this is my new favorite. I'm imagining a full stadium singing those low backing vocals back to Joseph and I think that's what they were going for. This is the best song so far.

Redecorate

    Alright, final song. Twenty One Pilots has a tendency to make the final track on their albums the most emotionally heavy ("Goner", Trees", "Leave the City"), and it looks like they're still following that path. While I didn't watch the livestream they did a few days ago, I heard rumors about the album revolving around Tyler's creative freedom being manipulated by an outside source. If this is true, it's prevalent in the album. For example, the feeling the album ends with is completely different than what it started with, and it slowly transitioned over time. The lyrical content of this song seems like it's reaching some darker themes revolving around death and dying, but I don't want to make that assumption without knowing. This is definitely one of the higher-up songs for me as it goes back to the Twenty One Pilots I love.

    All in all, this was not a bad album. If you follow all of the cryptic scavenger hunts the band has sent fans on, this is very much for you. I, however, have not been in that game since the "closing eye" and since DEMA came around. Overall, I'd put this at about a 71/100. It's not a bad album, and I'll probably end up listening again. The thing is, it's going to be nothing more than background driving music for me for a very long time. Furthermore, if this is 90% of their new setlists and they cut even more songs from albums like Vessel and Blurryface, I proabably will not be attending their shows in the near future, sadly.

    Thanks for reading.

                -Stiggy