Review - Twenty One Pilots - Vessel

Just over 3 years after their debut album, Twenty One Pilots has jumped back onto the alternative music scene with their re-packaged third album, ‘Vessel’.

The album may play a bit like a collection for the group (seeing as how they have old and new songs on the set), but that is fitting for a band in their position. Twenty One Pilots are just about to break, so they’re bringing out their best and showing it off.

Perhaps for diehard fans this will be a bit of a disappointment (only in that they’ve heard a number of these before), but for the rest of the word, this is a great introduction.

Some distorted drum machines mixed with a live set and a couple of unexpected (in the best way) indie-synth lines allow an overall great update from their original sound.

The duo are a mix of a handful of genres – pop, alternative rock, and even hip hop. Seeing as the two are on the same label, I’d feel appropriate comparing them to Gym Class Heroes one some songs (“Migraine”) and perhaps Keane on others (“House of Gold”). Then they go and throw in some pure synth pop (“Semi-Automatic”), and their style is rounded out.

This album is full of rhythmic word-play and they even kept some of the first album alive with some solid piano riffs and rap verses. So, what do we call this album? A collection of funky, hip-hoppy fun tracks that you’ll want to give a listen.

Don’t let the misleading album cover distract you. These two talented twenty-somethings sound anything but geriatric.

Listen to: “The Run and Go”, “Fake You Out”, “Migraine”

- Michael Feloni

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