Twenty One Pilots’ “Overcompensate” dropped on Feb. 29. The single was heavily anticipated by fans who noticed previous album covers, such as the one for “Vessel” or more recently “Scaled and Icy” had red tape on them. Fans hoped this surprise would follow lore and stories introduced in the track “Heavydirtysoul” but expanded upon in the 2018 album “Trench.”
Their last album, “Scaled and Icy,” released in 2022, split up fans into those who like the “new” Twenty One Pilots and those who didn’t. However, “Overcompensate” brought back beats introduced in “Regional at Best” and sounds from their first studio album “Twenty One Pilots.”
Sophomore Tiffany Pindell has been a fan of Twenty One Pilots since sixth grade.
“I like all genres of music but I like that more EDM focused part of it that they had in earlier albums,” Pindell said.
“Overcompensate” started with a similar voice to “Redecorate.” The voice transitions between German, French and Spanish saying “(Diese kleine peinliche Insel hat mich zu einer Waffe gemacht Ich glaube deinem- Cette petite île étrange a fait de moi une arme Nous croyons tous les deux que nous pouvons L’utiliser pour changer l’élan de cette guerre) Esta pequeña isla espeluznante me ha convertido en un arma Ambos creemos que podemos usarla para cambiar el impulso de esta guerra” This strange little island made me a weapon. We both believe that we can use it to change the momentum of this war.
The start of the song by itself was such a great call back to previous records like “Welcome back to Trench,” followed by a distorted “I created this world, to feel some control. Destroy it if I want, so I sing Sahlo Folina” ringing in the background before Tyler Joseph comes in. Another call back was Joseph’s call out to Josh Dun as he built up the drums.
One main thing that makes Twenty One Pilots different from other Alternative Rock, or as they refer to it, “Ukulele Screamo,” is the fact that they incorporate so many different genres into their songs. In previous records such as “Holding On to You,” they switch from a steady rock sound to a Caribbean vibe at the bridge, so fans never know what to expect; however, it is one of the main reasons fans became fans.
However, not all fans or listeners enjoyed the song. Senior Ryan Autenrieth was introduced to Twenty One Pilots by his mother who used to play their tracks during car rides.
“Generally, I’ve liked their music, it’s been interesting and cool. [‘Overcompensate’] just seemed very rushed in production, from listening to the lyrics and hearing it. It doesn’t sound like they put much into it, it sounds like they were just trying to put something out fast,” he said.
One thing most fans are agreeing on though, are the high hopes for the upcoming “Clancy” album.
“I like the song but I don’t think it feels like the ‘classic’ Twenty One Pilots. It just sounds like their voice over a new brand but I’m not mad about it,” Pindell said.
