Follow-up thread to Hybrid Theory : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-1-hybrid-theory.47086/ Meteora : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-2-meteora.47107/ Minutes to Midnight : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-3-minutes-to-midnight.47112 A Thousand Suns : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-4-a-thousand-suns.47118/ Living Things : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-5-living-things.47122/ The Hunting Party : https://www.lpassociation.com/forum/threads/lets-review-part-6-the-hunting-party.47127/ Let's pop. ---------------- Top 3 Qualities Lyrics : OML is the only record in LP’s discography where there was a conscious effort from the band to start writing the lyrics and raw melodies first, before working on the instrumentals. It’s fair to say that it shows, as this is by far the album where LP ventures the most into storytelling, and where they open up the most about their private life. Songs like “Sorry For Now” or “Halfway Right” are prime examples of that. While I think, in essence, this approach is not necessarily always “better” than more vague lyrics, prone to personal interpretation, it is nevertheless a daring change of pace, and there is certainly praise to give for the genuine, raw emotional path taken on this album. Accessibility : While it is probably true OML alienated a fair amount of “rock fans” of the band, if we zoom out a little bit, it’s not a far stretch to say the pop nature of the record makes it especially accessible for a new type of audience – people who may not have an interest in Linkin Park, nor even in rock music in general. There are plenty of bright sing-along melodies to be found here, upbeat hooks, clean vocal lines, all of it embellished by a very shiny, sweet production. Gone are the abrasive yelling and MC bars from previous releases. I have at least one person in my close surroundings whose favorite LP record is by far OML, for the very reason it’s kind of a “family-friendly” album, that, by and large, shies away from the darker, more aggressive elements in the band’s sound. And that’s totally fine. Songwriting : I think, looking past the sound aesthetic of the album, which I’m not fond of, the tracks at their core are mostly very well written. The melodies are arguably all catchy, although I feel the influence of external writers can sometimes be felt a bit too strongly, diluting the unique flavor that’s usually present in the band’s compositions. Regardless, there are definitely some very strong hooks to be found here, for example in Nobody Can Save Me or Sorry For Now. Besides that aspect, there are a lot of small variations sprinkled throughout the songs, with verses and choruses constantly evolving despite the short nature of the tracks. In that regard, I think OML really paved the way to the songwriting on From Zero, which is also an album that displays an attitude of “Make super catchy and very fluid, ever-evolving 3-min pop tracks,” albeit in a totally different music niche. Top Issue Production / Mixing : This was a no-brainer for me. I want to mention right away that I don’t have an issue with the fact LP made a full-on pop record, and more with the kind of sound/pop they went with. There are multiple sonic choices on OML that I’m frowning upon, be it the repeated use of chipmunk-like vocal samples, the occasional appearance of clapping sounds or wub-wub synths, or the kick drum in Sharp Edges. One part of me used to think that, as the focus had been placed on lyrics and melodies during the recording process, the instrumentation side of things somewhat paid a cost. But nowadays, I think it has less to do with that, and more with the fact Mike/the band was at the time inspired by a specific blend of pop that really doesn’t appeal to me. Regardless of that bias, I think that specific choice of soundscape did hurt a bit the raw and emotional nature of some of the songs – Heavy, Halfway Right, and Sharp Edges come to mind. It remains a possibility that a more acoustic, intimate set-up could have suited that kind of lyrical content better. Next to the production, I think the mixing doesn’t do the album much justice either. On multiple occasions, there are sound layers buried so far in the mix that they become barely audible. I’ll here restrain myself to the classic example of the guitars in Battle Symphony or the bells in Halfway Right.
Lyrics, songwriting and vocals are the highlight. Production lets it down. Many of these songs could be the best LP songs with more interesting sounds and production, instead its just boring synth pads. Also, accessibility isn't a quality I care about, that's just another word for overly formulaic and predictable
I... disagree a lot with this. But I guess that's a way to look at it Personally, I sometimes like music simple and "somewhat" predictable. Random example, if I step out of a post-rock album with 20 min+ instrumentals (or any other less-accessible kind of music), I may soon after be craving a catchy formulaic easy-to-digest sing-along. I think both approach complement each other, and wouldn't actually like a world with only difficult-to-digest music. Like, fine dining is fun, but I do enjoy my occasional burgers and fries. But okay, I'll stop derivating the thread from its infency ^^'
Positives Lyrics: One More Light is the only LP album where the lyrics take the primarily role, and I’d say it mostly pays off. While there are still some cliché lines with the vague metaphors the band is known for, the personal messages in most songs are well-crafted, impactful and outshine everything. I mean, just try listening to the title track without shedding a tear. Negatives: Production: Easy choice, the production is clearly what drags this album down. For most people, Linkin Park is known for their memorable and high-quality production (alongside the vocals), but this album feels like the complete opposite at least for me. Instead, we get dated-sounding EDM synths, "wub wub" bass, and overused trap beats, elements often associated with "commercially lifeless music". This isn’t just because it sounds like a straightforward pop album, hell, I listen to a ton of pop, but it just feels really dated. It loses its impact pretty quickly, which is one of the main reasons why I think the album has aged poorly.
This one is a weird one. One More Light is such a divisive album and one that means so many different things with context now after the loss of Chester. There's a weight associated with this album but also still a general sentiment of resentment among many fans for the way it turned out, as well as the band's rhetoric during this album cycle. That last point is especially odd now in 2024, having celebrated the anniversaries of both of their classic nu metal-style albums, and getting a 100% throwback to that era in "Two Faced" on From Zero. I think this is definitely one of the weakest works, but I still prefer it to Living Things personally because I enjoy more songs from it overall, whereas with the latter it's really a small handful that I really like. Best qualities? Lyrics. Really a no-brainer. There are lyrics here I don't like as much, like the chorus of "Good Goodbye" (mostly because it just doesn't fit), and there are certainly other lyrics on other albums that I think are fantastic, but I think One More Light consistently nails it more than any other album. To be expected with the songs all taking a thematic and lyrical emphasis over instrumentals. The songs are all very personal, lack the kind of ambiguity that the band used to create the mass appeal of Hybrid Theory, and in my opinion this makes it really stand out and be a wonderful listen. Mike's songs especially stand out to me for being very personal musings, either about his kids growing into teenagers and getting into fights with him ("Invisible"), or about the way touring affects his relationship with his children ("Sorry for Now"). Chester gives the most personal lyrical recounting of his struggles on any recording he's ever done on "Halfway Right," and the title track is just dripping with raw emotion and grief. There's a reason why "One More Light" resonated with everyone so strongly in the wake of Chester's passing. Definitely a big plus for this album. Songwriting. While some might not agree with this, I think the bones of every song on this album are pretty good overall...even "Good Goodbye" if I'm completely honest. The actual songwriting is pop-format, but so has a large part of the band's output, and these songs are really well-written in that context. The way "Nobody Can Save Me" or "Sorry for Now" crescendoes, the arrangement of the fingerpicking on "One More Light," the backing vocals throughout the album (I'm a huge sucker for vocal harmony), all of these still stand out to me as having an element of freshness for the band considering their past six albums before this one. I think some of it got a little squandered by some production choices, but it's still there. Vocal Performance. Chester's performances were supposed to be really raw for the previous album, The Hunting Party, in the production sense. And they accomplished that, to mixed effect. On One More Light, his vocals get much more production, but still keep an element of rawness. This album has some fantastic Chester performances, as well as what I consider to be Mike's best singing on any Linkin Park recorded work. There's a tenderness and vulnerability to the way Chester sings so many of the songs on this album that I don't feel we get on any other album. There are many emotional or ballad-type songs throughout their catalog, but those are mostly focused on projecting power through Chester's voice (to great effect!). Here, Chester's vocal performance centers around what I find to be a sense of weariness and reflectiveness, an intimacy to the vocal recording, and warmth. It stirs an emotional reaction in me just hearing the timbre and inflection of his voice on several of these tracks. Some of it comes from the microphones they used, I'm sure, but the rest of it is all down to Chester's performance in the studio. Mike's performances are nothing to sneeze at either. I think "Sorry for Now" is the best Mike Shinoda-led song there is, between Linkin Park, Fort Minor, and his solo work. Mike absolutely soars on that song with a deep emotional delivery. It seems to me that the lyrical strength and vulnerability of this album really helped foster particularly touching singing by both Chester and Mike. And then there's "Good Goodbye." Lol. However, there's a very big glaring issue with this album that most people seem to identify with, and that's the production. The production and mixing of this album is what kills a few songs for me. I disagree with the notion that the specific production styles such as trap hi-hat rhythms or the synth choices are what weaken this album. I quite like the drop on "Sorry for Now," and I think "Nobody Can Save Me" does what the first five tracks of LIVING THINGS tried way better—combining rock elements with heavy or wobbly synths and electronic elements. Those two songs are also my favorites from the album. Where I think One More Light goes wrong with production is an overemphasis on the synthesized and sampled sounds, distracting from the emotive core of the album rather than centering around the vocals. It's the negative side of the band's "wall of sound" style—approaching their production this way when they're trying to emphasize a certain vulnerability and personal value to the vocals, it creates a confused product. The title track demonstrates brilliantly what the opposite approach does. A lot of it comes down to mixing and production, as there are several elements on these songs that, if they were more emphasized or mixed higher, would change the dynamics completely. Examples include the legato, melodic guitar lines of "Battle Symphony," the bells and piano in "Halfway Right," or the multiple acoustic guitar parts in "Sharp Edges," which get muddled by the overemphasized percussion. Even "Heavy" seems to eschew its most unique quality—having three singers in very different voice parts harmonizing—in order to add more synth layers that bury those performances.
Lyrics for reasons already stated, Vocals because Chester is always a plus, and accessibility because I couldn't think of anything else, and it fits in. Weakest point for me is actually diversity. It's not true that every song is the same over anything, but most of them do sound very similar, and it's not even a sound I'm into. That's the main reason why, while I don't mind the songs by themselves, I don't plan on listening to the whole album through anytime soon. Though tbf my real biggest problem with this album is just that I find the sound and style largely boring.
More votes wll probably still come, but so far, this is easily the album with the largest consensus. Only 4 qualities share all the votes
Damn, this album seems to always get at least one "OOOOH Shot Fired" moment @Christøffer got it right with the resentment thingy ^^'
Okay, little bump. From Zero thread coming next week!! Taking a bit longer on this one, I feel I want to give it a proper review moment. In a way, that's the one we were slowly building towards all along