Song Review: Whiny Lyrics Overshadow Solid Disco Pop of Level of Concern

If you thought ghosting was bad, imagine someone using the quarantine as a method of break-up. That’s kind of the premise of the new Twenty Pilots jam, Level of Concern. In the song, the singer wants his beloved to address his level of concern regarding their relationship. She appears to ignore his plea and he becomes more and more desperate, paranoid and concerned as the song goes on.

Twenty One Pilots is a really unique band, a rock duo with eclectic tastes that combine elements of rock, hip-hop and pop. They burst onto the scene with a sound that was highly unique at the time. In 2015 no one sounded like Twenty One Pilots. Today, Twenty One Pilots sounds like just about everyone else on the pop charts. Embracing the current disco-pop revolution, Level of Concern is better than a lot of other similar songs but errs on the side of unspectacular.

Level of Concern has a highly mercenary quality to it. It’s a break up song, the most common theme in pop in this day and age, and a modern dance track. It’s also a song that features the word ‘Quarantine’ quite prominently which throws it into an immediate context, if not one that may be relevant long term. If Twenty One Pilots were eager to concoct a song to be a hit today, they have everything but their own Tic-Tok dance going in their favor.

Does that make Level of Concern a good or bad song? That’s a complicated question. On a sonic level, I love this song. The song is crisp and bracing. It’s a compelling disco-pop song with a strong and memorable beat. I love the early synth and the kicking drum machine is fantastic. The guitar and bass are magnificent, I cannot complain about the song from that perspective. The lyrics however, are not great.

While the notion of someone using a quarantine as a reason to break up is clever, I guess, Level of Concern comes off as whiny. Listening to the protagonist of the song beg and plead for their lady love to address his Level of Concern, regarding their relationship, I came quickly to understand why she’s chosen to shelter at home alone. The vocal is pushy, insistent and unflatteringly desperate.

“Tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay, yeah

Tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

Bring down my level of concern

Just need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay, yeah

'Cause I told you my level of concern

But you walked by like you never heard

You could bring down my level of concern

Just need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

I need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

Need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

I need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

Need you to tell me we're alright, tell me we're okay

Need you now

I need you now”

As I was saying, unflatteringly desperate. The delivery of these lines with the frantic beat of the song only enhance my Level of Concern for this guy’s ability to take no for an answer. Honestly, if the song ended with the female protagonist having used the quarantine to dump the guy, I’d be on her side. As misanthropic as that notion may be, to use the virus as a ghosting technique when someone is this overbearingly insecure, what other option do you have? Who's the real villain here?

Much has been made about how ‘of the moment' Level of Concern is. Twenty One Pilots recorded the song amid the quarantine and sheltering at home, recording tracks separately and bringing them together while sheltering apart. That’s neat. I like the backstory and the ingenuity. It shows that art doesn’t have to be confined by our current cultural horror. Unfortunately, that’s a much better story than the one being told in the song.

Timeliness or not however, the mercenary quality and whiny lyrics of Level of Concern go a long way toward overwhelming the tracks strengths. I don’t hate Level of Concern, the music is too polished and compelling for me to hate it. But if I never hear another man whine about his girlfriend not paying attention to him again, I will have lived a very happy existence.