Linkin ParkOne More Light

Warner Music
Friday May 19, 2017
3
Ambitious and misunderstood

After their return to form with 2014’s The Hunting Party, One More Light is the complete change in direction Linkin Park thrive upon. The disappointing part is that their energy is all but gone. It’s not even the fact they’ve tried something new. That’s a given by this point. Tracks over the years like Roads Untravelled and Waiting For The End are proof that pop can still survive even with LP’s fingerprints on it. No, it’s that tracks like Battle Symphony feel like so much of an attempt to paint by the numbers that their trademark individuality is nowhere to be seen. Mr Hahn’s clever behind-the-scenes work is all but non-existent, and the oomph of the rest of the band has vanished.  The dark synth intro of Invisible holds promise but again, we’re subject to light and cloying piano. That being said, Mike Shinoda is infinitely more suited to the pop wheelhouse than Bennington (we’ve already been treated to it via woefully neglected side project Fort Minor). Not to say the band’s lead singer isn’t able to belt out genuine emotion; when he soars, as we’ve seen countless times, Bennington is stratospheric. It’s the lilting “flickers” on One More Light and the awkward phrasing on Heavy that bring the record crashing down. Shinoda’s more reserved performances are easier to swallow in the softer moments. Ditto for Sorry For Now, although it could do without the Flume-inspired beat. Disappointingly, most of these songs aren’t tracks that people would purposely choose to listen to. They’re passing tracks on shuffle, not a must download. We already heard Sharp Edges when Milky Chance released Stolen Dance and people still cared about Mumford and Sons. Just like that, the record ends. Up until this point Linkin Park have never felt like they’ve been concerned with current trends. One More Light isn’t the ambitious and misunderstood A Thousand Suns; it sounds like everything around it and that’s the real disappointment.

Standout Tracks: Sorry For Now, Invisible, One More Light
Stick This Next To: 30 Seconds To Mars, Passenger, Coldplay



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