| Regional at Best | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 8, 2011 (2011-07-08) | |||
| Length | 63:09 | |||
| Label | Self-released | |||
| Producer | Twenty One Pilots | |||
| Twenty One Pilots chronology | ||||
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Regional at Best is the second studio album by the American bandTwenty One Pilots, and its first as the core duo ofTyler Joseph andJosh Dun. Self-released on July 8, 2011, it was the band's finalindependent record before being signed toFueled by Ramen in 2012, and has since been discontinued andout of print.
Critics comparedRegional at Best to the band's 2009self-titled debut album and felt that it set a new basis for the style and tone of future albums. SeveralRegional at Best songs such as "Car Radio", "Holding On to You" and "Guns for Hands" were re-recorded for Twenty One Pilots' next album, their 2013 major-label debut,Vessel.
Twenty One Pilots was formed in 2009 by high school friendsTyler Joseph and Nick Thomas, as well as Chris Salih. The trio built a regional following acrossOhio and theMidwest with constant and energetic touring, shrewd use of interactive social media, and connecting with fans on a grassroots level. They self-released theireponymous debut album of what Neil Z. Yeung ofAllMusic characterized asrap-infused, high-techpop in December 2009 before Thomas and Salih left the band in 2011. Frontman Tyler Joseph recruited replacement drummerJosh Dun before the release ofRegional at Best and Twenty One Pilots continued as a duo.[1][2][3]
According to Ali Shutler ofAlternative Press, as the band shifted lineups, Twenty One Pilots effectively became Joseph's solo project by the timeRegional at Best was made.[4] Joseph describedRegional at Best in an interview withHuffPost as something he did himself and a "glorifiedmixtape that we used as a background to solidifying fans". He described the recording process: "I sat down in my studio, and man, I cranked out songs", noting that he didn't "know the ins and outs of being a professionalengineer". Joseph would put together a song's music, usingreplacement andMIDI to help him find the sound he was looking for, and then lay down vocals.[5] Like Twenty One Pilots' 2009 self-titled record,Regional at Best consisted of 14 songs recorded unprofessionally in a home studio.[6]
Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic felt that the album contained apparent hints of Twenty One Pilots' "genre-busting style that became their calling card in the years that followed".[7] Tyler White ofSputnikmusic said thatRegional at Best saw Twenty One Pilots take a new approach to their sound, writing that the crossover of pop,rock andalternative was still present from the first album with increase in dependence onelectronics andsynths, experimenting deeper into the realm of pop/alternative and utilizing the synths as the overall melodies of the album. White found thatchanging keys are often a definitive attribute of the album.[8]
Regional at Best was the first album from Twenty One Pilots as the core duo of Joseph and Dun.[7] White noticed an exponential increase of drumming with the addition of Dun, adding more complexity to the mix and enhancing the groove exhibited throughout the album by utilizing quickhi-hat bursts, fittingfills, and experimentation intom driven beats complimented by Joseph's lyrics, vocals, and rapping. White wrote that Joseph's lyrics call out to others "on a personal level, asking questions of identity, fear, and human nature when brought upon troubling circumstances", while his vocals in choruses hit higher notes and embrace wider diversity in range compared to the former self-titled album. White said that the album shows an ironically happy sound and wrote that the album's songs generally follow the same composition of beats, with synths providing harmony in the background and sometimes leading the musical assault, and an underlying bass groove backing up the melodies.[8]
"Guns for Hands" is a hopefulindie-pop anthem on the topic of suicide whichcleveland.com called "oddly happy-sounding".[9]Alternative Press wrote that the song features a bouncingreggae vibe the duo would explore in greater detail onBlurryface (2015).[10] It was noted by White for Dun's drumming skill alongside the next track, "Holding On to You",[8] whichAlternative Press thought fully realized the elements of the band's character, musical methodology and pop sensibility.[10] The song was described bycleveland.com as an "emotional force of nature that Tyler Joseph clung to during one of the toughest times in his career", and it subsequently became the first single fromVessel (2013).[9] The five-minute "Ode to Sleep" opens with fast paced raps over a hardelectronic beat before switching intopop-punk,[9] blending dark lyricism with buoyant instrumentals and a building beat.[11] It was described bycleveland.com as the "ultimate Twenty One Pilots track" and "essentially two songs combined in one",[9] whilst White mentioned that it contained one off Joseph's best rap performances in the band's history.[8]Alternative Press thought that the song captured Twenty One Pilots "at a turning point, signaling that they were entering another level", and was re-recorded as the opener ofVessel.[11]
"Slowtown" was criticized byAlternative Press for Joseph sounding "like he came in third in the localKillers karaoke contest every Thursday in Columbus".[10] "Car Radio" is an "uncanny mix ofalt-pop andelectronic hip-hop" which features a piano driving its progressions and arave instrumental section.[8][9][10] The song launched the band into the mainstream when it was recorded forVessel,[11] earning them a performance slot at the2014 MTV Movie Awards.[9] According to White, the songs "Forest" and "Glowing Eyes" apply the use of higherkeys andlayered vocals, giving an upbeat note to melancholy lyrics.[8] The former was described as "pop-tastic existentialism" byAlternative Press, highlighting the lyrics "Hands held higher/We'll be on fire/Singing songs that nobody wrote" as presenting a more troubled worldview towards humanity than that ofdeath-metal bands.[10] It features a rap performance by Joseph which White praised.[8]"Glowing Eyes" has Joseph sing lower registers in the verses while tacking higher ranges in the chorus.[8] Lyrically, the "sugary sweet" song talks about stamping out depressive thoughts and was named "one of the band's happiest-sounding releases" bycleveland.com.[9]Alternative Press called the song "A premature take on growing old (and possibly death)", comparing it withBlurryface's "Stressed Out".[10]
A "starkly unique offering" from early Twenty One Pilots, "Kitchen Sink" features "a dynamic blend of Joseph's vocals and layered instrumentals",[11] witherhu violin and "synth boops" in its instrumentation, lush choruses, as well as a verse from Tyler Joseph's "lightning-tongued" brother Zack summarizing that the space in the head only gets weirder to navigate as you get older.[9][10][7] According to White, it features Twenty One Pilots' "rooted downcast mood" and leaves the listener questioning his motives of Joseph's writing, wondering whether his mind is okay and what he means.[8] "Kitchen Sink" has garnered speculation on its meaning; a common consensus is thatsinks are a dumping ground, and the song represents that emotionally.[11] Yeung said that the song features some of the deepest lyrics in the band's catalog,[7] andAlternative Press considered it one ofRegional at Best's many standouts as well as a fan favorite.[11][10] A performance of "Kitchen Sink" was included in a 2017 compilation of Joseph's best live vocals.[12]
"Anathema" was called "possibly the most underrated breakup song of the last 10 years" byAlternative Press, complimenting its sentiment, while "Lovely" was criticized for Joseph's use of avocoder.[10] "Ruby" is Joseph's ode to a girl which features franticsequencer parts and unhinged screaming thatAlternative Press called "truly something for new listeners to behold".[10] Yeung called "Ruby" a "heartwarming ode" worth seeking out by fans.[7]
"Trees" is Twenty One Pilots' signature show-ending song; its build climbs a catchy synth melody with singalong lyrics into an "explosive, powerful punctuation mark".[9]Alternative Press called it "as celebratory as a high school pep rally, your favorite sports team winning a championship and the last time you were kissed really hard. All at once."[10] "Be Concerned" marks a return to the band's "downcast mood"[8] and features a verse from Columbus MC Jocef.[10]Alternative Press opined that, given the song's pop-crossover potential, it was curious that it didn't get a placement onVessel.[10] The final track onRegional at Best, "Clear", includes a synthesizer intro that "could've been lifted off aMindless Self Indulgence LP" and a chorus ending with a "vibe similar toMy Chemical Romance's 'Famous Last Words'".Alternative Press called it "an exclamation point to the higher-profiled adventures Joseph and Dun would embark on."[10]
Regional at Best wasself-releasedindependently on July 8, 2011;[7][13] Twenty One Pilots paid a company to print the CDs and had them ready for people to buy at shows at their merch table. Dun explained in a 2023variety stream that the band put out their independent records so that they would have music to play live: "At that time, we were kinda like, 'Let's just put something together – that way we can play shows.' And so it wasn't a professionally recorded record; it was really just material to go and play." Joseph added thatRegional at Best was "Something for people to buy to get enough gas money to get to the next show!"[6] The album's title was in reference to Twenty One Pilots' popularity in Ohio compared to everywhere else, with twelve people having shown up to their first out-of-state show in June 2011.[14] According to cleveland.com, Joseph was contemplating giving up on music around the time ofRegional at Best's release.[9]
Twenty One Pilots expanded their audience with a series of videos made by their friend Mark Eshelman and caught the attention ofmajor labels as their brand grew; they signed toFueled by Ramen in 2012,[1] at the time when they had already releasedRegional at Best.[6] As such,Regional at Best was the band's final independent record.[13] Twenty One Pilots had written more songs when they were ready to release their first professionally-done, major-label record,Vessel, through Fueled by Ramen. They were asked by the label if they wanted to releaseRegional at Best as it was or get the albumremastered but declined, instead taking songs from the album to re-record forVessel alongside their new tracks.[6]
TheRegional at Best songs "Ode to Sleep", "Holding On to You", "Car Radio", "Guns for Hands", and "Trees" were re-recorded forVessel,[15][6] featuring much of the same programming and vocals.[a] Yeung cited behind-the-scenes details related to song rights and distribution for whyRegional at Best was discontinued,[7] with Ali Shutler ofAlternative Press saying some of the tracks had been "pretty much removed from the internet entirely" and that "the mystery means physical copies of the record now sell for a few hundred dollars".[4]Kerrang!'s Emily Carter wrote that a listener has to "resort toYouTube to hear the likes of 'Slowtown', 'Anathema' and 'Clear'."[16]Billboard reported in 2016 that the album sold 3000 copies and has beenout of print since 2012.[17]
On July 6, 2017, several posts from Twenty One Pilots' social media accounts containing the image of a red eye contained abstruse lyrical messages fromRegional at Best,Vessel andBlurryface, teasing the album cycle ofTrench (2018).[18] In an October 8, 2018Reddit AMA giving insight on the recently releasedTrench, a user asked ifRegional at Best would ever see an official release, to which the band responded "Regional of what?", leaving its probability unpromising.[13] On February 3, 2023, Twenty One Pilots released aVessel 10th anniversary deluxe box set which included theRegional at Best songs "Forest", "Glowing Eyes", "Kitchen Sink" and "Lovely" on Side D.[19]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Mezzic | 8.6/10[20] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.0/5[8] |
Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic calledRegional at Best an "oddity" in the duo's catalog and "a fun rarity worth seeking out for hardcore fans". Yeung felt that it was nice to enjoy the album's tracks "without the weight of the mythology that began to take shape with their 2015 breakthrough,Blurryface" and wrote thatRegional at Best is "a special one – if it can be found."[7] Sputnikmusic's Tyler White called the album "pretty great" and felt that it contained some of Joseph's best rap performances in the band's history and provided a new basis for the style and tone of future albums, but also that the album was "a step down in many ways" from Twenty One Pilots' debut and that a lot of the songs sounded underproduced compared to their reworkings onVessel, leaning "more towards ademo album for almost half of the songs".[8] In White's review forVessel, White called bothRegional at Best andTwenty One Pilots "quite amazing, underrated albums".[21]Mezzic writer Ryan G acclaimed the album, stating that "Regional at Best is essentially a group of 14 glorified demos. One would never know it though, from the professionalism we hear."[22]
Ranking Twenty One Pilots' albums in 2021,Kerrang! writer Emily Carter consideredRegional at Best to be Twenty One Pilots' fifth-best album out of the six they had released at the time, placing the album above its self-titled debut. Carter wrote that the album features "layers upon layers of experimental genius to uncover" and desired a re-release.[16] It was ranked sixth by Ali Shutler ofAlternative Press in 2022, who said that the record may have provided the blueprint for what the band would become but was "perhaps the only Twenty One Pilots album that can be described as a work in progress" and thought that all of its better moments were re-recorded forVessel.[4] In 2018, Alessandra Rincón ofBillboard regardedRegional at Best's simplicity as its unique element among Twenty One Pilots albums.[23]Alternative Press noted in 2018 that many fans still hoped for aRegional at Best reprint,[13] and in a 2024 fan poll that the album was "totally beloved within Twenty One Pilots' canon".[11]
All tracks are written byTyler Joseph, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Guns for Hands" | 4:37 | |
| 2. | "Holding On to You" | Tyler Joseph, Maurice Gleaton, Charles Hammond, Robert Hill, Deangelo Hunt, Bernard Leverette, Gerald Tiller, Jamall Willingham | 4:26 |
| 3. | "Ode to Sleep" | 5:13 | |
| 4. | "Slowtown" | 4:57 | |
| 5. | "Car Radio" | 4:49 | |
| 6. | "Forest" | 4:11 | |
| 7. | "Glowing Eyes" | 4:26 | |
| 8. | "Kitchen Sink" | 5:34 | |
| 9. | "Anathema" | 3:59 | |
| 10. | "Lovely" | 4:20 | |
| 11. | "Ruby" | 4:30 | |
| 12. | "Trees" | 4:20 | |
| 13. | "Be Concerned" | 4:08 | |
| 14. | "Clear" | 3:38 | |
| Total length: | 63:09 | ||
Adapted from the CD liner notes.[24]
Twenty One Pilots
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