''Twenty One Pilots'' is the debut studio album by American band

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...

, released independently on December 29, 2009. The album sold 115,000 copies and peaked at number 139 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 on January 13, 2017.

Background and production

Sometime after the release of the record, it was revealed that the album was conceptualized and recorded within the homemade recording studio in the basement of the house that

Tyler Joseph Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. He has been nominated for ...

, Nick Thomas, Chris Salih, and Thomas's brother were staying in at the time. Additionally, while input was provided from the other members of the band, the lyrics were mainly written by Joseph. The album cover art was designed by John Rettstatt, a friend of Joseph.

Reception

Despite ranking as the lowest of the band's albums in a list for ''

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'', Emily Carter considered that "the quality of the songwriting here is already superb", praising Joseph's lyrics, and concluded that "these aren't chart-topping bangers, sure, but the impact of these songs cannot be understated". Maria Sherman of

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praised Joseph's "speak-singing" and the "beautiful piano arrangements" on the album, though criticized his enunciation while rapping. ''

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'' described "Addict with a Pen" as "slow, spare, and nakedly honest" and "the best representation of what initially drew fans to the band".

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, organs, piano, keyboards, programming, synthesizers, production (all tracks), steel guitar (track 14) * Nick Thomas – guitars, bass, programming (all tracks), backing vocals (tracks 9 and 10) * Chris Salih – drums, percussion (not actually recorded on the album), backing vocals (tracks 9 and 10)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Twenty One Pilots albums Emo albums by American artists Albums recorded in a home studio Self-released albums