It really doesn’t feel like that much time has passed since Twenty One Pilots’ last album, Trench, came out but then again, 2020 was a bit of a blur. Indeed, it has been three years since that release, so of course quarantining in a pandemic spawned the duo’s latest effort, Scaled and Icy. While a lot of the content on here is new territory for the band, there does seem to be a fair bit of throwback in it, too. Let’s dive in!
Overall, this album had a much more shiny and bubbly nature to it, instrumentally at least. I don’t think it will ever be possible for Tyler Joseph to be fully in the sunshine, but the arrival of his daughter surely crafted a bit of the direction of this effort. But, as I said, this record felt very upbeat for the pair, but that brought a fresh take, which I can admire in any band. After a couple listens is this by any means my favorite record from them? No. But it’s good to see them broadening their sound and experimenting.
Stand out tracks to me had to be “No Chances,” which if this isn’t used as some MMA fighter’s entrance song, it would really be a missed opportunity. Take a listen and let me know who you could picture headed to the ring with this song. Another strong song for me was “Outside,” which mixed a lot of their typical singing with rap breaks, which I’ve been a fan of from the start. Also, Tyler singing a lyric about a megalodon just really made me laugh and have a somewhat traumatic flashback to a high school English class. Anyway, other really strong tracks include two of the singles they released prior to the record coming out, “Shy Away” and “Choker.” Honestly, “Choker” just keeps getting better with every listen, and Tyler’s deadpan vocals in the song remind me a bit of Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. “Shy Away” had parts in it that brought me back to Vessel, and I think this is a cool transition from that era of their career.
Now, just because I liked a good chunk of songs from the record, there were a few that just had me making a stank face immediately. And suffice it to say, it stayed there until they were over. “Saturday” and “Redecorate” are such radio friendly tunes that if they never make it into Top 40 rotations I’ll be shocked. With that being said, I am a fan of certain Top 40 music, and “Saturday” possesses the perfect blend of beat and repetitive lyrics that will stick with me all day if I hear it first thing in the morning. That is the formula you need for a good pop song, so congratulations to them I guess. “Formidable” is also a song that I will probably never listen to again, but if Arcade Fire’s Everything Now record taught me anything is that some things can be good with time. So, I suppose I can’t say never here.
Anyway, all of that to say that it was a pretty solid effort by the guys of Twenty One Pilots, and I hope I get the chance to see them on tour again in the near future. They’ve got hits and mega stage presence that can’t be missed in person!