Compared to albums from before, Scaled and Icy by 21 Pilots seems to get rid of the darker themes prevalent in prior albums. “It felt like I needed to go in the opposite direction, I wanted to escape a little bit more and provide people with that opportunity to escape too,” says singer songwriter Tyler Joseph (Apple music). The album was released in May 2021.

With our current circumstances of the pandemic, it’s understandable to want to escape and fall into your imagination. I would describe the essence of the album to have more of a pop sound.

It starts with the first song of the album, “Good Days.” This song is very upbeat and could easily be used in a sitcom or television show. “I designed it to feel like something was coming to life,” says Joseph (Reddit.com). Within this song is a catchy instrumental and the tone of the song seems very positive and happy.

In another song, “Shy Away,” there are similarities. I think this song was kind of generic and sounds similar to some of their songs before. I think they played it a little safe with this one.

I feel that the last song on the album, “Redecorate”, is a little darker and talks about how you would cope if someone close to you died.

Overall, I don’t think this album is the best, however it is not the worst, either. Although they did try to direct away from a darker theme and tone, I feel like some songs portrayed that specific theme. I feel like some songs were a little generic and similar to songs on albums prior to this one. All in all, I recommend you give this album a listen for yourself to give your opinion and to closely understand any underlying details. You can listen to it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-WKwsmteHw.