Linkin Park
One More Light
Warner Bros. Records
2017
I will admit to never really liking Linkin Park’s homogenous and hermaphrodite style caught between pop, rap, rock and a hard place… the band really losing all traction since 2010, with their popularity on the decrease and sales slumping, tries to go full on pop, with a bit of rap, further trimming down on rock elements and tuning everything up… the result is LP’s most plastic and pop album.
“Nobody Can Save Me” is a very safe and subdued opener, something you could hear in a teen movie, during the sappier moments. Teen angst by 40 year old men? Nah, won’t buy into that.
“Good Goodbye” (feat. Pusha T and Stormzy) has a nice intro, but quickly becomes a typical rap, with its guests dropping a beat.
“Talking to Myself” has some 80s pop keys + neutered guitars. It’s pleasant enough with even a chorus that’s not too shitty.
“Battle Symphony” was one of the two songs that was leaked and is too “acoustic”, with a few silly electronic adlibs and a pseudo climax. It’s like your gf faking and you know it… but completely “painless” since you were gonna dump her, since the flame had died. Decently melodic but nothing more.
“Invisible” is similar a very simple laid back track with Shinoda taking over from CB… not terrible, but nothing to write home about.
“Heavy” (feat Kiiara) relies on an over simplified hook/chorus to appeal. It’s the first song of the band to feature female vocals and somehow, the young Kiiara’s vocals are more “black” and beautiful than CB’s almost always angsty, but unconvincing drawl, but I have to admit they sound pretty OK in unison. It is so poppy that it even received backlash by “longtime fans”… (excuse me while I imao)
“Sorry for Now” is another Shinoda sung tune, with those silly electro-tuned adlibs in there… poppy as hell and in from one ear, out of the other.
“Halfway Right” sounds like a bittersweet realization of having fucked up slightly, but it’s pretty boring, wallowing in self-pity and not even getting that right, with CB starting to adlib midway… meh.
“One More Light” is a soft super sustained/verbed guitar notes at the back thingy, with vocals drowned in verb too, not bad, I guess you’d call it poignant… yeah, that’s the right word. And plain as well.
Finally, “Sharp Edges” is an acoustic kinda country experiment, as if someone started singing a Taylor Swift song with a guitar. I’d rather actually listen one of those style of songs from TS. But I have to say that the vocal production on this one is pretty nice… in an uneven and frankly boring album, it’s one of the few songs that stand out.
In trying to go full pop, Linkin Park fail to be as catchy as the genre dictates. In trying to keep up rock appearances, despite never being the saviors of “metal” as CB would funnily attribute them to be… they seem stuck to contrived preconception of how to sound and that too holds them back. I can only see them stooping lower and possibly splitting up soon to do a reunion a few years from now…
“Nobody Can Save Me” is a very safe and subdued opener, something you could hear in a teen movie, during the sappier moments. Teen angst by 40 year old men? Nah, won’t buy into that.
“Good Goodbye” (feat. Pusha T and Stormzy) has a nice intro, but quickly becomes a typical rap, with its guests dropping a beat.
“Talking to Myself” has some 80s pop keys + neutered guitars. It’s pleasant enough with even a chorus that’s not too shitty.
“Battle Symphony” was one of the two songs that was leaked and is too “acoustic”, with a few silly electronic adlibs and a pseudo climax. It’s like your gf faking and you know it… but completely “painless” since you were gonna dump her, since the flame had died. Decently melodic but nothing more.
“Invisible” is similar a very simple laid back track with Shinoda taking over from CB… not terrible, but nothing to write home about.
“Heavy” (feat Kiiara) relies on an over simplified hook/chorus to appeal. It’s the first song of the band to feature female vocals and somehow, the young Kiiara’s vocals are more “black” and beautiful than CB’s almost always angsty, but unconvincing drawl, but I have to admit they sound pretty OK in unison. It is so poppy that it even received backlash by “longtime fans”… (excuse me while I imao)
“Sorry for Now” is another Shinoda sung tune, with those silly electro-tuned adlibs in there… poppy as hell and in from one ear, out of the other.
“Halfway Right” sounds like a bittersweet realization of having fucked up slightly, but it’s pretty boring, wallowing in self-pity and not even getting that right, with CB starting to adlib midway… meh.
“One More Light” is a soft super sustained/verbed guitar notes at the back thingy, with vocals drowned in verb too, not bad, I guess you’d call it poignant… yeah, that’s the right word. And plain as well.
Finally, “Sharp Edges” is an acoustic kinda country experiment, as if someone started singing a Taylor Swift song with a guitar. I’d rather actually listen one of those style of songs from TS. But I have to say that the vocal production on this one is pretty nice… in an uneven and frankly boring album, it’s one of the few songs that stand out.
In trying to go full pop, Linkin Park fail to be as catchy as the genre dictates. In trying to keep up rock appearances, despite never being the saviors of “metal” as CB would funnily attribute them to be… they seem stuck to contrived preconception of how to sound and that too holds them back. I can only see them stooping lower and possibly splitting up soon to do a reunion a few years from now…