Regional at Best (2011)

Regional at Best is the second studio album by the American band Twenty One Pilots, and its first as the core duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. The album was self-released on July 8, 2011, and was the band's final independent record before being signed to Fueled by Ramen in 2012, having since been discontinued and put out of print.

Several critics compared Regional at Best to the band's 2009 self-titled debut album and felt that it set a new basis for the style and tone of future albums, with an increased dependence on electronics and synthesizer. Several Regional 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. A rarity in the band's catalog, Alternative Press has reported that Regional at Best remains beloved by the band's fans, with many hoping for a reprint.

Background and development

Twenty One Pilots was formed in 2009 by high school friends Tyler Joseph and Nick Thomas, as well as Chris Salih. The trio built a regional following across Ohio and the Midwest with constant and energetic touring, shrewd use of interactive social media, and connecting with fans on a grassroots level. They self-released their eponymous debut album of what Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic characterized as rap-infused, high-tech pop in December 2009 before Thomas and Salih left the band in 2011. Frontman Tyler Joseph recruited replacement drummer Josh Dun before the release of Regional at Best and Twenty One Pilots continued as a duo.

According to Ali Shutler of Alternative Press, as the band shifted lineups, Twenty One Pilots effectively became Joseph's solo project by the time Regional at Best was made. Joseph described Regional at Best in an interview with HuffPost as something he did himself and a "glorified mixtape 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 professional engineer". Joseph would put together a song's music, using replacement and MIDI to help him find the sound he was looking for, and then lay down vocals. Like Twenty One Pilots' 2009 self-titled record, Regional at Best consisted of 14 songs recorded unprofessionally in a home studio.

Composition

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic felt that the album contained hints of Twenty One Pilots' "genre-busting style that became their calling card in the years that followed". Tyler White of Sputnikmusic said that Regional at Best saw Twenty One Pilots take a new approach to their sound, writing that the crossover of pop, rock and alternative was still present from the first album with increase in dependence on electronics and synths, experimenting deeper into the realm of pop/alternative and utilizing the synths as the overall melodies of the album. White found that changing keys are often a definitive attribute of the album.

Regional at Best was the first album from Twenty One Pilots as the core duo of Joseph and Dun. 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 quick hi-hat bursts, fitting fills, and experimentation in tom 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.