Review: Twenty One Pilots – ‘Jumpsuit’ / ‘Nico And the Niners’

Twenty One Pilots have broken their year-long silence with the release of two new singles, ‘Jumpsuit’ and ‘Nico And the Niners‘.

Twenty One Pilots fans were excited to see the end of the hiatus, and for the announcement of the upcoming album Trench, set for release in October. In order to tease the new album, the band released two tracks last week, and an accompanying video for ‘Jumpsuit’.

Jumpsuit is a surprising direction following the 2015 album Blurryface, favouring a heavy bass riff over the duo’s usual upbeat pop sound. The new sound is an exciting development, and is an interesting choice for a lead single, as whether this is a one-off experiment, or a characteristic of this new era, is still unknown. As the track goes into the bridge, there is a change of pace accompanied by a softer sound, which is more familiar to long-time fans. Another familiar element is the final segment of the song following the bridge, where Tyler’s screams are reminiscent of their 2013 track ‘Car Radio’.

Contrastingly, ‘Nico And the Niners’ feels more like a throwback to the Vessel era rather than a brand new experimentation. The track has a dreamy flow, with almost Latin vibes in the beat and backing instrumentals. The jumpsuit motif is continued, which is suggestive of the theme of the coming album. Most excitingly for older fans however is the fast rap of the bridge, which was such a key element in the band’s earlier music.

‘Jumpsuit’ and ‘Nico And the Niners’, although released alongside one another, feel like they could belong to two different eras, and seem only to be linked by the recurring image of jumpsuits. This is an intriguing first-glimpse at the coming album, where we will find out if they will work harmoniously together through the flow of the whole album, or whether they are a jarring confusion of genre-experimentation and artistic direction.

For more information about Twenty One Pilots’ upcoming album and tour, head over to their official website.

‘Jumpsuit’ and ‘Nico And the Niners’ are available now via Warner Music.