At the beginning of March 2020, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States stood at 70, but by the following month it had grown by hundreds of thousands with an increasing death rate, resulting in the closure of schools and the banning of large gatherings.

[6][7] "Level of Concern" was written by Joseph, who produced it alongside Paul Meany of the alternative rock band Mutemath.

[17] "Level of Concern" is composed in the key of E minor, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans two octaves, from the low-note of D3 to the high-note of D5.

"[12][13] Chris Willman of Variety considered that the upbeat instrumental assuages the "anxiety" found in the lyrics, which also discuss "finding the right bunker-mate" with lines such as "would you be my little quarantine".

[14][12] Chris Payne of Billboard described "Level of Concern" as a "bop" with a "nimble" chorus,[20] while Caryn Ganz called it "a delicious bit of '80s pop-funk that revels in its simplicity" in her assessment for The New York Times.

[14] Jason Lipshutz, also of Billboard, claimed that the track is "the first true anthem of the coronavirus age", and speculated that it could become a commercial success due to it having a more radio-friendly style than Trench, as well as "words that anyone could relate to at this moment".

[24] In late 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Airplay,[25] Billboard published a list of the top 100 most successful songs in the chart's history; "Level of Concern" was ranked at number 26.

[26] The music video for "Level of Concern" was shared upon the song's release on April 9, 2020, and was directed by frequent collaborator Reel Bear Media.

This is cut between clips of Joseph and Dun spending time with their respective partners and decorating their houses with flashing lights and fluorescent stars.

[32] On June 12, 2020, a subset of the official Twenty One Pilots website began to accept alphanumerical codes in a specific format: "LOC-XXX-XXX-XXXXY", with "X" being digits and "Y" being letters.

[34] The final file download led users to a website that initially allowed them to input their name, mailing address, and Twitter handle.