This is an album that I had a lot of anticipation for, while also feeling hesitant about looking forward to this release. Mike Shinoda, through Linkin Park and Fort Minor, has always been one of my favorite artists, and seeing him release music under his own name, without any sort of moniker has been incredibly revealing of him as a person and an artist. However, this release is a result of an immensely tragic loss, that of Chester Bennington last July. Nearly a year after his passing, Post Traumatic reveals, in its entirety, the journey that Shinoda has embarked on since that moment that altered his life forever.
While this album documents Shinoda's grappling with the loss of one of his best friends, it also shines a light on the process of moving beyond that struggle. In the course of 16 songs, the listener gets a deeper look into the personal and emotional states Shinoda as been going through in the time span of this album's creation.
I've already talked about a few of the songs in previous reviews - see my thoughts on the original EP here ("Place To Start", "Over Again", "Watching As I Fall") and the first two singles that came with the album announcement here ("Nothing Makes Sense Anymore", "Crossing A Line").
With an album like this, it's obvious that there's going to be a lot of focus and discussion on the lyrical content (and I will be no exception to that).
Where to even begin?
Shinoda goes over a lot of content and subject matter. Songs like "Ghosts" and "Hold It Together" touch a bit more directly on the notion of dealing with pain and loss. One of the lines from the latter that really stuck out to me was the following:
"They say that they sympathize
I'm grateful they take the time
But bringing it up at this six year old birthday
It kinda fucks up my vibe"
which is such an interesting insight into the process of healing. While people may have good intentions of bringing up someone's recent loss, there are good times and bad times to bring up something like that, and the birthday party for a six year old would definitely quality as the latter.
The chorus of "Ghosts"
"The lights go down
Holding every memory close
Tonight is for our ghosts"
feels like its from a moment that's a bit farther along the path of grief, yet still dealing with the unseen - memories and the imagination - creating moments of deja vu or unexpected sorrow or anger.
Some of the more intriguing songs, lyrically, were the more rap based tracks - specifically "Running From My Shadow (feat. grandson)", "Lift Off (feat. Chino Moreno & Machine Gun Kelly), and "I.O.U.". I've included my favorite lines from each song below:
"Wanna know where I don’t go
When it goes from OK to a oh no
When it goes from hi five to a low blow
When it goes from all five to a solo" (Running From My Shadow)
"You're the opposite of stars like rats spelled backwards
I flow poems out to Saturn and past it"
&
"Imagine me quittin' what a travesty that’d be
You space shuttle challengers are nothin' but tragedies" (Lift Off)
"I'm ‘81 Reagan with that nonsense, miss me
Father like Francis, Anakin or John Misty"
&
"A huge act man like I'm known for being Logan
X-23 I’m keen to leave 'em with a femur broken" (I.O.U).
All of these songs are very different, but what keeps them together is the spotlight all of them shine on Shinoda and his lyrical and stylistic versatility. While he has broken from his beginnings of simply rapping, the bars in these songs definitely showcase why he started there and his love for the game. He still has a fire, he can still flip a line and take someone down with lyrical wordplay, and isn't afraid to do it. It feels like him, in the sense that rap has always been a part of his identity. These moments show some progress on the path to the recovery of himself; changed for sure, but still there.
A big theme I found on multiple songs dealt with self doubt, something that's not surprising after such a loss, but also not as commonly talked about (at least from my experiences with it). "Promises I Can't Keep", "Make It Up As I Go (feat. K.Flay)", "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore" all specifically touch on this.
The chorus of "Promises I Can't Keep" is pretty clear in the grappling with confidence:
"I had so much certainty
Til that moment I lost control
And I've tried but it never was up to me
I've got no worse enemy
Than the fear of what's still unknown
And the time's come to realize there will be
Promises I can't keep"
as well as learning how to accept and acknowledge limitations.
"Make It Up As I Go" touches on this concept a bit farther down the line, where it's hard to know where you're at but you keep moving forward by making it up as you go:
"I keep on running backwards
I keep on losing faith
I thought I had the answers
I thought I knew the way
My brother said be patient
My mother held my hand
I don't know what I'm chasing
I don't know who I am
So, I make it up as I go".
One of the more interesting songs, lyrically, was "About You (feat. blackbear)". In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shinoda talked about how this song addresses the idea that a lot of people are going to assume all of the songs on this album are going to be about Chester when it's not necessarily the case. It's hard to avoid that association, but also a very good point, and something that I'm sure can be a bit difficult to deal with. The best summary of this concept comes in the second verse of the song:
"No, there's not a single thing that I can say
Not a single solitary, every meaning changes shape
Even when there's no connection back to you in any line
All of a sudden it's about you and it gets me every time".
Now, while there is a lot of focus on the lyrical aspects, the instrumentals should not be left out of the spotlight. In fact, the variety of sounds and vibes are a huge part of what help solidify and strengthen the songs and their messages. Some of the songs have just straight up cool moments. The outro of "Running From My Shadow" is this intense & gritty piece, distorted guitar over the booming beats that create a head-bang worthy moment. "Hold It Together" has a very Linkin Park-esc moment during the bridge, sounding similar to something the band might have done during the Living Things era, with the drums switching to a breakdown beat as the synth solos high while the guitar keeps itself lower and driving. The verses of "Make It Up As I Go" remind me a lot of the beat/sound from "Pray For Me" off the Black Panther soundtrack, which contrasts a bit with the chorus of the song and the inclusion of female vocalist K.Flay. Even the instrumental "Brooding" manages to build itself up from piano chords and a mellow guitar line to this thumping, headphone-rattling beat that reminds me a lot of the demos Linkin Park used to put out through the LP Underground. "Promises I Can't Keep", as a whole, feels like something that would have worked so well for Chester vocally. The fact that Mike can create and tackle something like that is a mark of the progress he has made and the talent he holds within himself. I could definitely hear that song fitting in well with the rest of the music from One More Light.
Cool parts aside, Mike goes all over the place with this album. We hear pop, we hear hip-hop/rap, we hear rock, alternative, electronic, all packaged up together in a cohesive yet versatile sound that shows the insane range of Shinoda as a musician. He wrote and recorded almost everything on this album himself, with some outside mastering and mixing help and the features from other artists. It's a really incredible piece of music, from beginning to end. Despite it's length, I find a hard time calling any of the songs filler. Each track feels intentional and specifically crafted to express some sort of sentiment or emotion related to the journey past the traumatic.
Not only is it something I know I'll listen to again and again, but that I can smile about. I know Mike is getting better, working through the struggles to move on with his life, and I hope that others can find the same sense of relief - it can get better.
Rating: 5/5
Recommended: "Promises I Can't Keep", "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore", "Running From My Shadow (feat. grandson)", "I.O.U", "Crossing A Line", "Over Again", "Lift Off (feat. Chino Moreno & Machine Gun Kelly)"
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