“Overcompensate” – Twenty One Pilots Releases First Song Since Scaled and Icy
Written by mccormacke1 on February 29, 2024
Twenty One Pilots are back at it again – confusing and intriguing fans with vague, cryptic messages throughout the globe with their latest single, “Overcompensate.”
Review by Emily McCormack
Alongside this new track, Twenty One Pilots announced their upcoming sixth studio album Clancy will be here on May 17, 2024!
The music video for the latest track premiered on Thursday, February 29 via the band’s official YouTube.
“Overcompensate” is the first release since the duo’s 2022 album Scaled and Icy, which received mixed feedback. While SAI delivered seemingly more upbeat tracks, fans longed for the darker, dramatic elements of earlier albums – and their voices were certainly heard with this new track.
With this new song, the band is certainly not stepping back from bringing the storyline that united their latest three albums to the forefront. It begins with imagery of Dema, a mysterious location that has been present since Blurryface (2016).
The first line of this new single is literally “Welcome back to Trench,” bringing fans back to the era of their 2018 album. The video also begins with lyrics from “Bandito,” a song on the same referenced album, before “Overcompensate” officially begins.
The beat switches up as frontman Tyler Joseph appears with a similar outfit from Trench, replacing the yellow tape and bands with the color red.
If anything, I am immediately brought back to the era of Blurryface with the drum beat – and it brings a huge smile to my face (of the good music, not the middle school years…)
I have been listening to Twenty One Pilots for years – and you may disagree, but I feel like this is perfect, authentic TØP. There is a bit of a difference between this track and past albums of course, but this song is not a drastic switch up between their typical sound and Scaled and Icy… which is something I am very relieved by.
It’s only around the three-minute mark where I am taken a bit aback – Joseph sings the bridge: “Days feel like a perfect length, I don’t need them any longer, but for goodness sake, Do the years seem way too short for my soul, corazón.” It almost reminds me of the single “The Sun Keeps On Shining” by Almost Monday – a favorite song of mine – and I welcomed this change of pace!
The last fifteen seconds of the music reveal more insight into the band’s storyline, revealing that Joseph is actually not stuck in the world of Dema, with drummer Josh Dun dragging in a boat close behind. This certainly suggests there is more of the story soon to come!
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Over the past few weeks, fans have been speculating the new project from the band since a newer version of their classic logo appeared on billboards all over the globe mentioning the character Clancy, a thread throughout the band’s three most recent albums (quite a perfect foreshadowing, considering the upcoming album’s title!)
Before the release, they added red-colored tape on top of the eyes of each of their previous albums, all the way from the early days of Vessel (2013) to Scaled and Icy. Seeing as yellow duct tape was a huge thread throughout the band’s era of Trench (2018), this leaves people wondering what this new color may represent.
Fans have anticipated the new chapter of Twenty One Pilots would be represented with the color red after drummer Josh Dun was spotted with the slightest hint of red hair in a photo with a fan (You can’t sneak anything past the clique).
Twenty One Pilots released a four-minute-long video on social media earlier in the week detailing the story behind their previous albums. If there is anything Twenty One Pilots are good at, it’s creating a complex and fascinating story for their fans to unite by – so if you need to catch up on the lore, this video is there for you!
Fans new and old are crossing their fingers for a tour announcement, especially since their latest Icy Tour concluded back in October 2022.
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Image from YouTube.
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