Vessel - twenty-øne piløts (Album Review)

PhenomentalOne twenty-øne piløts. A band made of a piano-playing rapper and an over-enthusiastic drummer. Well, that's common (at least the second one is).

I have to be honest. I used to despise these guys even though I'd never listen to any of their songs properly. All because of...their fan base. And now I'm part of it. At least that's what I think. I mean, most of it is utterly cancerous but...I'll discuss this on another post if you want.

The first song I properly heard from them was Heathens, a mega-hit of 2016. And I liked it. Heck, I loved it. And I had heard parts of Stressed Out and Ride. You know, the songs which ACTUALLY made the Skeleton Clique infamous. Then, due to Andrew, I got to hear Car Radio, Fairly Local and Lane Boy. And I liked those too. So I decided to venture out further by streaming Blurryface since 4 of the songs that I've mentioned were from that album...

And I had found another band I love.

Seriously, it was one of the best albums of 2015 and would've taken the top spot if To Pimp A Butterfly didn't exist. But then I felt kinda guilty since now I was only a mainstream fan of theirs and so I decided to take another step and listen to Vessel. What do I find?

Musically, I don't know if it's better than Blurryface or not. I haven't compared the productions yet and it seems like I can't. Blurryface was, in my opinion, intended to be poppier and with the introduction of the bass guitar, more leaning towards rock than electronic. Nevertheless, we do have multiple tone-shifting Holding On To You, the progressively descending autotune on Migraine, the seemingly country-inspired ukulele and tambourine on House Of Gold, the AWESOME DROP on Car Radio, the poppier arpeggio on Semi-Automatic, the soulful piano ballad that is Screen, the commercial-esque The Run And Go, the Japanese synthesizer on Guns For Hands, the trembling bass on Trees and finally, the BEAUTIFUL harmonization on Truce. If we look at the production, it's never the same. They tackle a lot of genres here and somehow, the absence of the bass guitar doesn't stay in your mind for long.

Lyrically, this deals with almost EVERYTHING a teenager goes through. The comfort and importance of resting your mind on Ode To Sleep, the fight between your negative and positive thoughts on Holding On To You, the effects all these thoughts have on Migraine, the love for your close ones on House Of Gold (here, it's Tyler's mother), the distracting tactics your mind uses to cloud these thoughts on Car Radio, the negativity taking over on Semi-Automatic, dealing with acceptance on Screen, denial of having these thoughts on Fake You Out, helping others who go through this feeling on Guns For Hands (if 1-800-273-8255 wasn't THE suicide anthem, this should've been the one), seeking help from the divine on Trees and ultimately, hoping for the sun on Truce. Its a bumpy ride but then again, even our life is one.

In the end, I won't say that it's their best work but it does show Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun in maximum energy and ready to face an audience with confidence and giving hope for others because if you can retain your presence of mind while feeling emotional, then no one can stop you from living a happy life.

Track Rankings and Ratings
12. Fake You Out (0/10)
11. Ode To Sleep (2/10)
10. The Run And Go (3.5/10)
09. Guns For Hands (4.5/10)
08. Trees (5/10)
07. Semi-Automatic (5.5/10)
06. Screen (6/10)
05. House Of Gold (7.5/10)
04. Truce (9.5/10)
03. Holding On To You (9.5/10)
02. Migraine (10/10)
01. Car Radio (11/10)
Album Rating - 8/10

My next review is gonna be a requested one. So there. Also, should I do a Blurryface review?

XO

Comments

It was ok



sure, I wouldn't mind a bluerryface review - ProPanda