Upon first listen, the one thing that becomes immediately clear is the album's streamlined approach; its 12 tracks clock in at a paltry 37 minutes. Lead single Burn It Down, at a shade under four minutes, is the closest you're going to get to a magnum opus on this platter.
As the album plays on, it also becomes apparent that the blatant pop leanings of that single doesn't exactly make it the harbinger of Linkin Park gone full-blown pop that some thought it could be (myself included). However, it isn't quite the "return to the roots" that's it's being marketed as either.
Yes, Chester's screaming more (most effectively on the raucous Lies Greed Misery). Yes, Mike's rapping more. But, any chest-thumping dumb jock looking for the downtuned chug-a-chug riffage of the first two albums is going to be sorely disappointed, since guitars are much more used for ambience than to propel songs here.
Living Things isn't as soft or preachy as Minutes To Midnight or A Thousand Suns were (album closer and future single shoe-in Powerless is about as gentle as LP are willing to get this time), nor is it the raging inferno of Hybrid Theory or Meteora (yet it teases old schoolers masterfully with Victimized, a punk-infused shredder that's over in a slight 1:46). It's a safe compromise for both band and fans; brimming with both brawn and beauty, never forcing itself uncomfortably into either camp.
At the end of the day, Living Things is not a safe return nor a bold departure. It's a distillation of Linkin Park's strengths, a collection of ragged anthems polished and refined. Moreover, it's the sound of a group that's stopped pretending to be something they're not. Abandoning both wall-of-guitar bro-rock and gushy top 40 radio aspirations yields an album that's tight, consistently entertaining and never overbearing.
So, yes, all you fanboys and haters alike; Living Things is Linkin Park's best album yet.
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