Twenty One Pilots (album)

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Twenty One Pilots
Studio album by
Twenty One Pilots
ReleasedDecember 29, 2009
Recorded2009
StudioTyler Joseph's home studio, Columbus, Ohio
Genre
Length62:08
LabelSelf-released
ProducerTyler Joseph
Twenty One Pilots chronology
Twenty One Pilots
(2009) 		Regional at Best
(2011)

Twenty One Pilots is the debut studio album by American band Twenty One Pilots, released independently on December 29, 2009.

Background and production[edit]

Tyler Joseph met Chris Salih at a party during his time at Ohio State University, who offered to play music with Joseph. They formed the band with Salih playing drums. Later, Thomas was invited by Joseph to join the band as a bassist. In 2009, the group moved into a house of their own and started working on their first album. Joseph was primarily in charge of the songwriting with input provided by other band members. The album was recorded in the basement studio. Due to the low budget for making the album, instead of recording real instrumentals, most of the drum beats were programed with computer software.[2][3]

The album cover art was designed by John Rettstatt, a friend of Joseph.[4]

Release and sales[edit]

The album was released in December 2009. After the release, the band began touring Ohio. Their initial marketing was grassroots; Joseph's mother would stand outside of Ohio State University, giving away tickets to their shows.[5] During this time, the band participated in various "Battle of the Band" contests at The Alrosa Villa and The Basement, important Columbus music venues.[6][7]

The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 in January 2016,[8] months after the band's 2015 album Blurryface was released, peaking at No. 139 on the chart in January 2017.[9] According to Billboard's data in July 2016, the album had sold 115,000 copies.[10]

The band retained ownership of the album after signing with label Fueled by Ramen in 2012, and continues to make it available for digital sale and streaming.[11]

Reception[edit]

Despite ranking as the lowest of the band's albums in a list for Kerrang!, Emily Carter considered that "the quality of the songwriting here is already superb", praising Joseph's lyrics, and concluded that "these aren't chart-topping bangers, sure, but the impact of these songs cannot be understated".[12] Maria Sherman of Fuse praised Joseph's "speak-singing" and the "beautiful piano arrangements" on the album, though criticized his enunciation while rapping.[13] Alternative Press described "Addict with a Pen" as "slow, spare, and nakedly honest" and "the best representation of what initially drew fans to the band".[14]

Track listing[edit]

Twenty One Pilots track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Implicit Demand for Proof"4:52
2."Fall Away"3:02
3."The Pantaloon"3:34
4."Addict with a Pen"4:47
5."Friend, Please"4:13
6."March to the Sea"5:32
7."Johnny Boy"4:39
8."Oh, Ms. Believer"3:37
9."Air Catcher"4:13
10."Trapdoor"4:37
11."A Car, a Torch, a Death"4:34
12."Taxi Cab"4:46
13."Before You Start Your Day"3:53
14."Isle of Flightless Birds"5:46
Total length:62:08[15]

Personnel[edit]

  • Tyler Joseph – vocals, organs, piano, keyboards, programming, synthesizers, production (all tracks)
  • Nick Thomas – guitars, bass, synth bass, programming (all tracks), backing vocals (tracks 9 and 10)
  • Chris Salih – drums, percussion, backing vocals (tracks 9 and 10)[citation needed]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Twenty One Pilots
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[16] 139

References[edit]

  1. ^ Phillips, Marian (October 20, 2020). "20 scene albums from 2009 that dominated your iPod playlists". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "Episode 10 – Nick Thomas". The Twenty One Pilots Podcast. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2018 – via SoundCloud.
  3. ^ "Founding Twenty One Pilots member Chris Salih opens up about band". altpress.com. August 24, 2017. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "John Rettstatt on Instagram: "Hello friends! I recently took a brief break from posting to social media and it has been relaxing to detach myself a bit. That being said…"". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2020 – via Instagram.
  5. ^ Shayla D (September 14, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots Singer Tyler Joseph Discusses How His Hard Work in Basketball Paid Off in a Successful Music Career". Inquisitr. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Twenty One Pilots – Trapdoor Live @ The Battle of the Bands 10–11–09". Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Twenty One Pilots – Friend, Please Live @ The Battle of the Bands 10–11–09". Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Cabison, Rosalie (January 2, 2013). "Billboard 200™". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Cabison, Rosalie (January 2, 2013). "Billboard 200™". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 29, 2016). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' Surpasses 1 Million U.S. Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  11. ^ "Regional at Best". Genius. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020. Archived 2020-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Carter, Emily (August 7, 2020). "twenty one pilots: Every album ranked from worst to best". Kerrang!. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Sherman, Maria (December 3, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' Albums, Ranked". Fuse. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  14. ^ LeRoy, Dan (September 2, 2015). "The 10 best twenty one pilots songs". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Track list, user reviews, and credits for Twenty One Pilots self-titled". Allmusic. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
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