Vessel

TWENTY ONE PILOTS | CHAPTER THREE

2013’s Vessel is an electro pop rock masterpiece. Plain and simple. It still holds that creativity that Self Titled and spots on Regional At Best held, and this is best shown in the production, of which borrows from a plethora of genres. Those genres ranging from hip hop to reggae to electronic dance music, and the album pulls off all this without feeling messy, which is thanks to how airtight it is, and it was most definitely handled with care judging by the many small but great details like the record scratches on Fake You Out or the small lo-fi sections of Screen. And some of these songs have actually phenomenal instrumentals like the emotional ballad Car Radio and Ode To Sleep, the latter being one of the best songs they ever made.

Moving on from production, this album has some emotional potency, almost getting to Self Titled levels at points with the absolutely great metaphorical writing. I absolutely love songs like Migraine, Holding On To You, and again Ode To Sleep because of this. There isn’t really a spot on here besides possibly Truce that has 100% straightforward writing and this makes it fun to decode Tyler’s lyrics, which compliment the at times complex production. And it may not rival some early songs they’ve made writing-wise it still is very solid and pretty interesting.

And finally for Tyler’s vocals. I’ve honestly never really had a problem with Joseph’s voice aside from points on RAB, and I’ve always loved how emotive it is, even if he doesn’t have the best voice ever and he can sound a little teenager-y at times. And his rapping on here adds another layer, that being catchiness. Like the rap verses on here are some of my favorite parts of this album, and now that I think about it not only are the rap verses catchy but all of this album is pretty catchy and I think that’s why I remember all of the lyrics on here, and those piano breakdown parts on songs like “The Run And Go” and “Semi-Automatic” have some of his best and sweetest vocals.

And that’s Vessel. Besides the kickdrum on The Run And Go being very loud and the drums on the EDM parts on Fake You Out being dead as hell I love every part of this record and it will always hold a place in my heart. Stay tuned for my Blurryface review where we see if they continue the sound of Vessel (I mean I already know the answer because I’ve heard all these albums before but I’m trying to build suspense soo)

Favorite Songs: All

Okay Songs: None

Least Favorite Songs: None

(100 - 92

A comfort album for me. Really really tightly written electro pop tunes. It has a way more accessible edge than their previous two, and that works in its benefit in some ways. Better production and better highs than their first, and better in every aspect than the previous record. Love it still.)