Scaled Back and Isolated – 5 years of twenty øne piløts most underrated album

By Kayla Harper 

Five years ago today, Kaitie and I were wearing our brand new twenty øne piløts t-shirts, baking cupcakes with blue, pink and yellow frosting, about to watch the Scaled and Icy Livestream Experience, the soundtrack to all these festivities? The brand new twenty øne piløts record, Scaled and Icy. 

The new record was originally named, Scaled Back and Isolated, after the line in the album’s closing track, “Redecorate”, but changed to Scaled and Icy when lead singer Tyler Joseph’s mom declared the title was too long and difficult to say. In a way the title was also a reflection of the times we were living through globally and it was created by Joseph and drummer Josh Dun to reflect that.

Created only by the two band members in total isolation in the midst of the pandemic, Joseph and Dun used their spare time to practice and excel even further at their instruments, picking up new instruments and teaching themselves how to produce, mix and master an album entirely by themselves because of this, both have deemed it the most organic twenty øne piløts album to date (Bird, The Only Band In The World, Ch.7 pg 191-241).

Scaled and Icy brought a brand new sound to tøp’s discography, brighter tones, tight and clean cut arrangements, in conversation with Ryan Bird that while unintentional, part of the sound may have indirectly been influenced by Joseph’s one-year old daughter Rosie, as a means to make the music more accessible to her, although Joseph says he was never conscious of doing this (Bird, The Only Band In The World, Ch.7 pg 191-241).

This new sound had many purposes, while the albums’ subject matter is some of the darkest of their career, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the last thing people needed was to feel more isolated and down, sonically, Scaled and Icy, is more upbeat, hopeful and danceable.

For a band that built themselves on live shows and now didn’t know if they’d ever play one again, they were doing everything they could to bring their people together to celebrate the new album, such as the release-night Scaled and Icy livestream which acted as a concert of sorts, while telling the infamous Dema lore behind the album.

“Good Day” opens the album with luminous bouncy keys, paired with rhythmic drums, soaring vocals and trumpet, sonically “Good Day” sounds like a good day. However, as soon as the first lyrics come in, “I can feel my saturation leaving me slowly”, we learn that like the majority of the album, this is contrasted with dark and depressing lyrics which suggest it is anything, but a good day as Joseph sings, “lost my job, my wife and child”. The track balances on gratitude, despite bad things happening, we never truly know how bad it is because we don’t know how much worse it can get.

We also quickly learn Scaled and Icy is riddled with Dema propaganda, after the banditos failed perimeter escape at the end of the Trench era. Another reason for the overall bright sound contrasted by dark lyrics and minor keys.

The second promotional single, “Choker”, crumbles under the pressure breaking down into a vulnerable place of self-realization, “Seems like all I’m worth is what I’m able to withstand / Sooner I can realize  that pain is just a middleman” but only in this place is the strength and determination for self-reclamation and betterment gained, “Like a silhouette that you can barely see / As a shadow cast upon the ground where you’ll eventually / Lay forever, but the day goes on, the sun moves behind you / You get taller, bolder, stronger, and the rearview only blinds you”. 

The lead single, “Shy Away”, was created after Joseph’s younger brother asked him about his songwriting process and he decided he would just show him. Similarly, one of Joseph’s goals with “Saturday” was to create a song inspired by the disco music his father in law liked. Despite being a personal favourite for its overall danceability, good vibes, fun vocals to sing along to, the song became one of the most hated by the general public and tøp fans, to the extent that Joseph took a jab at it himself in the third single off their following album, “kinda wishing that I never did ‘Saturday’” (“Backslide”, Clancy, 2024).

Despite being a Dema propaganda album, there is a resistance to these powers throughout the album, reaching a climax on “Never Take It”, which is dually a lore-driven anthem, but also a real-life social and political criticism, taking an opposing stance. On a later track, “No Chances” seems to take the alternate perspective of this fight, being written from the bishop’s point of view.

Like any twenty øne piløts album, Scaled and Icy has a moment dedicated to Joseph’s wife, Jenna. Sonically, “Formidable” soars, as Joseph sings of his life-long commitment to his wife, humble confessions and vulnerable opens up about his anxieties and dreams, “you should know I might be cynical towards you / I’m just worried my loyalty will bore you”. 

The final track, “Redecorate” is the darkest on the album, written from multiple perspectives of people before they take their lives, the worries and impacts it will have on those who care about them. Inspired by a friend of his who preserved their son’s bedroom after he passed away.  It’s also the song which inspired the album’s name and seems to emphasize the overall message of tøp’s music: to stay alive.

I’ll admit there’s moments on Scaled and Icy that took longer to grow on me, and moments that still fall off for me, such as “The Outside”, but all considered, Scaled and Icy is an album I love. Whenever I want something fun to sing, want to dance, or need the energy to get something done, this is the record I put on. It’s the first tøp record with a guitar solo (“Never Take It”), containing the most complex tension between the major and minor chords, as well as between the darkest lyrics and brightest tones of their career. It’s a misunderstood gem in their discography that deserves more time and appreciation.