TWENTY ONE PILOTS - SCALED AND ICY
After a six year wait and a pretty pastel rebrand, the Ohio duo are back with their sixth studio album Scaled and Icy, that is as quintessentially Twenty One Pilots as fans would have hoped for.
After a six year wait and a pretty pastel rebrand, the Ohio duo are back with their sixth studio album Scaled and Icy, that is as quintessentially Twenty One Pilots as fans would have hoped for.
The opening track, ‘Good Day’, lulls listeners into a false sense of security with cheerful piano and a jaunty bass line. But, the second Tyler Joseph begins to sing, we realise the true meaning of the song – and it stings. The song was inspired by a thought experiment, where Joseph began to wonder how he would function if he lost everything he held dear - wife and child included. He believes that he would cope using toxic positivity; frozen in shock and denial, pretending everything was absolutely fine. It sounds happy in the most sinister way – an almost Truman Show display of plastic perfection. ‘Good Day’ is multi – layered and sublimely crafted; a gutter punch start to the album.
‘Good Day’ moves swiftly onto ‘Choker’ – a much more candid depiction of emotions. The manic electronic introduction paired with a melodic melody layered on top suggests that this song, albeit fearful and sad – will have hope hidden in it somewhere. Twenty One PIlots are renowned for having a fanbase that, unfortunately, can personally relate to their music. The chorus of ‘Choker’ is anthemic, and poignantly ends in “nobody’s coming for me”. The beauty of this is it is so easy to imagine a crowd of fans singing this at the top of their lungs together, and the irony is that every fan around you, and the band on stage, are coming for you. Joseph and drummer Josh Dun don’t want their fans to be alone with these feelings, and their music reflects that. Joseph then showcases once again that he is nothing short of a poet with his rap verse. He likens pain to a shadow, in the sense that when you first notice a shadow it is long and imposing and stretches in front of you – but towards the end, it shortens, and looking back is futile – “the rear view only blinds you”.
‘Saturday’ sounds like your archetypal party pop song at first listen, but is actually a wholesome and personal message to Joseph’s wife Jenna. There is even an interlude where the voice of Jenna tells him to keep going. Twenty One Pilots usually make you dig a little deeper to discover the meanings of their songs, so it is refreshing to hear them speak so candidly.
The final track, ‘Redecorate’, is a much less poetic reminder to keep going. This track is very similar to the band’s early music and talks about the harsh and raw realities of suicide. The song begins with a gentle rap verse, in a distorted voice, and a very deep electronic voice accompanies the chorus vocals. It almost feels like this unfamiliar voice is the voice of Joseph’s inner demons – and it is finally making some sense.
‘Scaled and Icy’ is multifaceted, painful, and hopeful; a comeback to be proud of.
Abbie McLaren
★★★★★