I first heard Twenty One Pilots during the spring of 2014 as a senior in high school. “Car Radio” began playing on my Spotify indie radio and Tyler Joseph”s voice made me stop what I was doing. He sounded so tortured, but the music was the perfect balance of dark and light – completely impassioned.
I was drawn in from that moment, but my familiarity with the band”s overall works didn”t surpass its 2012 album, “Vessel,” until that fall when a few of my newfound college friends asked if I”d accompany them to Spokane for a TOP concert at the Knitting Factory.
After a week of frantically listening to both full-length albums released at the time on a loop, I went with them, and it was the best concert I”d ever been to. It was so personal, so intimate – describing the night wouldn”t do it justice. In the year and months since, I”ve come to the unexpected realization that I, an avid music lover and collector, have a favorite band, and that band is TOP.
While I”ve considered a few bands my “favorite” over the years, what appeals to me most about TOP is that it can”t be categorized in a single genre. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, vocalist Tyler Joseph – half of the duo also consisting of drummer Josh Dun – said, “It is true that if you hear our music described, it sounds unappealing.”
Lyndsie Kiebert
As someone who has attempted to describe the band”s style as indie pop/punk/alternative/rap/ukulele jams, I couldn”t agree more. This band is bringing something different to the table, and it doesn”t stop at just style.
Lyrically, Joseph is breaking down barriers in terms of what Top 40 listeners hear on the radio by singing about heavier topics – most notably, mental illness. Coping with depression and anxiety are recurring themes in TOP”s music, and even as its style has morphed and the band has become more popular, the messages behind the lyrics have remained steadily meaningful.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety at different points in my life, lyrics from not only songs like “Migraine,” but nearly every other, have spoken to me, and that is part of why TOP”s newly gained stardom has made me so proud.
Also, important to note: this band made itself. Promoting themselves door to door in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Joseph and Dun played in the mall”s food court and built a fan base from the ground up. These guys are people – relatable, passionate people. All they”re doing is making music for the sake of music, which today seems to be novel.
While this column could easily grow into a fandom-esque rant about how people need TOP in their lives, I will conclude with this: TOP is making a place for itself in the Top 40 not because it sold out, molded itself to anyone”s expectations or even because it fits – anyone would say there”s nothing else on the radio quite like TOP.
This band is making a place for itself in the mainstream because its music resonates with the people listening, and I am so excited to see what else Tyler and Josh create as a result of all this well-deserved support.
Lyndsie Kiebert can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lyndsie_kiebert