I had the
opportunity to listen to Vessel by
Twenty One Pilots this week. I also had the opportunity to visit Siberian
Russia with a two-day stopover in the Gaza Strip, which I regrettably turned
down in favor of listening to Vessel by
Twenty One Pilots. Has anyone out there heard of Twenty One Pilots? There is surprisingly little information available on the internet about them. As of
this writing, they don’t even have a Wikipedia page. I’ve gathered this much:
They are Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, a slightly-older-than-college-aged duo from
Columbus, Ohio, who just released their debut LP with Fueled by Ramen records.
If after reading that previous
sentence you are in any way intrigued, then I have good news: You will probably
like this band. I, however, just turned 27, which is approximately 15 years too
old to appreciate their music. Considering the fact that when I was 12 years old, I thought the pinnacle of music was Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray, I gotta believe
that there’s an audience for these guys. But if you’re of legal drinking age
and have relatively sound decision-making capabilities, you really have no
business listening to them.
I’m perhaps being overly harsh
in an effort to get my point across. They seem like a “fun” couple of guys and
(probably) by default play “fun” music. They are passionate about their music
and you can clearly tell by listening to any of their songs that they enjoy
what they do. But my biggest problem is that I don’t know exactly what it is
they do. According to the Fueled by Ramen blog, their music is a “distinctive
fusion of piano-driven indie-rocktronica and lyrical uplift.” Props to their
marketing people for coming up with that gem, because that sounds a little like
Foster the People, and Foster the People they are certainly not. Do you know
what Vessel sounds like? It sounds
like Asher Roth and a bad version of The Killers got together and decided to
write a Broadway musical.
The first 40 seconds of Vessel is pretty cool. The beat got me
pretty pumped up. But then one of the guys starts rapping, and ladies and
gentleman, we do not have another 2pac on our hands. He raps for a while, and
then the song dramatically changes into something entirely different and the
other guy (or the same guy, I’m not really sure and I don’t really care) starts
singing. And then it changes back to rapping over an EDM beat. The song goes in
approximately 12 different directions. Of the tempo, Mr. Joseph said in a
recent Huffington Post interview, “I don’t really know what it is I was thinking;
it was just that I’d like to hear a song like that.” Unfortunately, it’s not
just that song that’s the problem. Inexplicable rapping abounds on Vessel: I don’t understand why it even
exists at all. He’s not an awful rapper, but let me ask you this: would you
sprinkle oregano on a hot dog? I suppose you could, but…why would you?
Again, it’s possible I’m being a
bit rough on these guys. I don’t consider myself a better person for trashing a
band in a review. Since I possess no musical capabilities I’m really intrigued
by the process of writing and recording a song; it’s turning absolutely nothing
into something. It’s still art. But when you release an album on Fueled by
Ramen records you are opening the door for some criticism. The best thing I can
say about this band is that I’m sure they’d play a fun, energetic live show. I’d
buy a ticket to see them just out of curiosity. And if I walked into someone’s
house and they were playing this album I wouldn’t ask them to turn it off. But
the worst thing I can say about them is that I’d be embarrassed to recommend
them to a friend.
I’ll still throw them a bone,
however. “The Run and Go,” is a pretty damn catchy song, and “Guns for Hands,”
is not an affront to my ear canal. But with so much great music out there it’s
hard to envision a scenario in which I’d play this album ever again.
Grade: C-
Grade: C-
I"’m sure they’d play a fun, energetic live show"
And they DO. The primary reason they got a record deal is because in their home state they started selling out every venue they played. I know dozens of people who thought they were pretty "meh" at first, but after seeing them in concert, they are now some of their biggest fans.
I thought the album was great. But who knows? Maybe I'm a 21 year old moron with no sound decision-making capabilities. Maybe I should go listen to some sh*tty gangster rap instead.
I'm very "meh" on them right now, but I'd still go see them and you might be right, they might make me change my mind. But I really can't call the album great. It's bland and it's missing something. I think their sound is built for a stage and not a studio.
I Don't think age is an issue. I'm 34 and they're my favorite band. In my opinion, Tyler's rapping rivals Eminem's.
When you see them live, then you'll understand. From a 20-year old Ohioan.
The fact that you listened to this music and thought Eminem would be not only a remotely close comparison, but that Tyler "rivals" him is absolutely incredible and, in case you weren't sure, I am being facetious when saying that. Eminem is the best syllabic rapper in history and is known for his polarizing content. He rhymes not only the end of bars but the beginning and middle as well (for example, in "Forgot about Dre"), and there are not a lot of rappers out there that put that much thought into it. There's a reason he's known to have killed Jay-Z on renegade and no rappers ever try to battle him. I will admit relapse was garbage but, especially now that he is clean, I have seen him admit that when he talks about it. However, mmlp and Eminem show, recovery....nobody f***s with those albums. I realize I probably took this debate to a whole different level but in my opinion it was necessary that somebody said this. You really shouldn't go around throwing insulting comparisons like that out especially when I'm assuming by the fact that you even thought this in the first place, you really don't listen to Eminem ever. However, after reading this maybe I have urged you enough to do just that. :)
I love oregano on my hot dogs and I love Twenty One Pilots. I'm 30 and a big fan of 90s music. I've never LOVED a song the first time I've heard it but Holding on to You blew my mind. I'm a huge fan of 311, Good Charlotte, Link Park, No Doubt, and other such bands spewed by the 90s self-expressive "era". Since then, I have not been so excited about a band.....but these dudes make me jump for glee like a 4-year-old having a lollipop dangled in front of her face. I do however appreciate your attempt at respectfully expressing your opinion, but my opinion wants to kick yours in the ass.
Well, they made it on "Last Call w/ Carson Daly" and it looked like they were playing the usual synthy-emo-beat-y kinda electronic-y thumpy crap that drunk and high (freshman) college kids seem to love, and they were packing their venues - and they had people singing along - so people do know their songs... Problem is - that kind of music often does fill clubs but falls flat in the "serious listening" dept. - and thus it will not sell 'records' (or downloads, or whatever). The gigs might make money - the music itself won't make money. It takes a band like FUN. to bridge the gap and also SAY SOMETHING. So more power to the 21 Pilots Boyz - I hope they do well, but I doubt they'll sprout any real national legs. We shall see. We shall see. The jury is still out. One smart move - they are refusing to be an "opening act". I think that's smart. They aren't going to play unless people want to see THEM. So their heads are on straight -let's see if the songwriting catches up.
Oh, and my apology to anyone who thinks Eminem is some kind of epic poet because he can make a near-kinda-rhyme in the middle of sentence. Big deal. He wouldn't know how to diagram the grammar in one of the lines of his "rap" if his actual, literal life depended on it. He knows NOTHING about the language he tortures, and that makes him a complete fraud in my book. If you're gonna play outside the chords, you have to know the changes as they say in the jazz world.
im 20 and this group is absolutely on fire here on campus. Sold out show in East Lansing and SO KILLER live. My man, i respect opinions but i implore you to listen again or watch some live vids. Such a talented band.
so, i think michigan state has a few people over 12 years old, and i think that you need to think this review over again. part of me just wants to call you a dumbass, but ill just chalk it up to you just not understanding...yet.
35 yo here. Grew up on rock bands of 60s-90s. Currently into jazz. I avoid new stuff as most of it is crap.
T.O.P. is awesome. Period. The talent is oozing. Lyrics pull you in. Tyler's voice is excellent. Not all songs are good. These guys are discovering themselves, so that's expected. But the ones that I do like I keep playing over and over. The fact that they mix up music styles is a cherry on top -- keeps it from getting stale.
That's all. Oh, and you are a clown.
I appreciate the effort lad, but please don't attempt to write yourself off as a music critique. Your assessment of this album may well serve as an opinion but it falls short of a true analysis in any sense of the word. In fact, it borders on snotty and offensively arrogant. Truly, I question whether you really did listen to this album intently (like a critique should) or just threw it on in the background while you were busy being you're "mature" 27 year old self. In any case, these two guys are making a bit of good music that's meaningful to a lot of people. So I implore you to listen again, and this time to dig a little deeper. Instead of focusing on the "inexplicable rapping", tune in on a lyric or two and maybe you'll find that this band is more than just fun. It's interactive. It's progressive. And most of all it has a POSITIVE message; one that can reach people of ALL ages, which is exactly what today's music industry lacks and needs.
You joker! This is what music SHOULD be. It's fresh, lovingly crafted, meaningful, fun, and uplifting. If you stopped to listen to the lyrics instead of scoffing at how they're delivered, (and by the way, I think the rapping is impressive completely appropriate to the content) you might find a beautiful image of the darker aspects of the human psyche...with a POSITIVE outlook. All that, of course, is without even mentioning the indomitable energy in their demeanor and especially their live shows. I'll be sorely disappointed if they "sell out" but I guarantee they'll become a major pop-culture icon in the next year. I recommend them to ALL of my friends, and I haven't regretted it yet.
Just going to throw some things out there, not trying to offend your opinion or anything but there were a few things that bothered me about your review. "Ode to Sleep" dives into so many genres in one song because it is talking about him struggling with his own mentality, feeling alone and scared one second and feeling free the next. The reason he raps, he explains, is that he cant say everything he wants to in just 4 minutes. He also is not bad at rapping. He lyrically kills pretty much every rapper out there now EVEN eminem's songs. This is coming from a person who has loved eminem for years. They obviously don't rap the same but the both do amazing work on what they do. and also Tyler Joseph does what very few artists do. Catch the listener before the chorus even starts. Listen to the second chorus of every song on this album, The second verse is always the best lyrically and is always more explosive, leaving the listeners hooked through the whole verse and not just left waiting for the next chorus. i could go into what each and every song on the album means and on how didn't put time into this review but im just going to say, go back and actually listen to it. Or you could just go back to your 40 year old rappers talking about what brands they wear since im probably wrong because im an under age american with no sound decision-making capabilities :)