Nico and the Niners

Composition & Musical Identity

"Nico and the Niners" stands out within the Trench catalog as the very first track the duo finished writing and recording for their fifth studio album. Released on July 11, 2018, as the second lead single alongside "Jumpsuit," the song carries a distinctly eclectic sonic fingerprint. At three minutes and forty-seven seconds, it weaves together reggae rhythms, rap cadences, rock energy, and psychedelic textures into a single compact arc. For a band known for genre-hopping, this track crystallizes that approach: no single style dominates, and the blend feels intentional rather than accidental.

Music Video & Narrative World

The visual companion to "Nico and the Niners" dropped on July 26, 2018, and was helmed by Andrew Donoho, who directed every music video in the Trench trilogy. The production was shot on location in Kharkiv and Kyiv, Ukraine, lending the footage a gritty, Eastern European texture that suits the album's dystopian storytelling. In the video, Tyler Joseph portrays Clancy, who is seen packing a backpack before encountering Josh Dun's character, the Torchbearer, in what is described as Dema's faded city square.

The two shake hands and then merge with a band of rebels wearing yellow, collectively known as the Banditos, to perform the song. Intercut with this thread are scenes of sinister red-hooded, robed figures referred to as the bishops. The video closes on a haunting image: two children stumble upon a Bandito's abandoned gear, only to turn and watch the nine bishops—the self-styled leaders of Dema—march toward them in silence.

Commercial Performance & Chart Trajectory

Its ceiling on the main Hot 100 came at number seventy-nine, a respectable but not breakout placement for a second single. However, the track found stronger footing in the rock-oriented charts, ultimately peaking at number seven on Hot Rock Songs, which underscores its resonance with the band's core audience. Internationally, the song crossed the Atlantic to reach number eighty-eight on the UK Singles Chart, indicating a degree of transatlantic appeal beyond the American market. Taken together, the chart data paints a picture of a song that performed solidly within Twenty One Pilots' established fanbase and rock radio audience while not achieving the kind of mainstream pop crossover that some of the duo's other singles have managed.

Production & the Duo's Division of Labor

As is typical for Twenty One Pilots, the recording credits for "Nico and the Niners" reflect a heavily hands-on approach by the two members. Tyler Joseph is listed across an extensive range of roles: lead vocals, keyboards, bass, synthesizers, guitar, programming, ukulele, production, and songwriting. Josh Dun contributes drums, percussion, and backing vocals, anchoring the track's rhythmic foundation while Joseph layers the melodic and textural elements above.

The only additional credit goes to Adam Hawkins, who handled the final mix. This lean personnel list—just three names for a song that blends reggae, rap, rock, and psychedelic elements—highlights how much of the sonic architecture was built in-house by the duo before it reached the mixing stage. For a band that has never relied on large session ensembles, the track exemplifies their signature model: two people, a wide palette of instruments, and a production process that keeps creative control tightly in their own hands from first sketch to final master.