IN REVIEW: Mike Shinoda - "Post Traumatic"

When we lose a family member or loved one, it's often a difficult proposition to figure out just how we're supposed to move on without them in our lives. It can be especially tough for band mates, as the life and career you had built up alongside this person is now suddenly and irrevocably changed.

Consider Mike Shinoda, who acted as kind of the co-frontman of Linkin Park with Chester Bennington for about twenty years before the latter committed suicide in 2017; that's hard news to wake up to, and Shinoda was rightfully going through a wide range of unwanted emotions after Bennington's passing.

Now, a year after the tragic death of Bennington, Shinoda presents his self-described "cathartic" solo debut. Sequenced more or less in the order the songs were written, Post Traumatic tells the story of Shinoda's struggles to make sense of it all in the months after losing his friend and band mate, and chronicles his hesitant return to the spotlight he once shared and is now forced to face down alone.

However, this is not simply an album about death and what becomes of the living; to be sure, the first half of Post Traumatic is dominated by the complicated emotions surrounding Bennington's death but, as the album progresses, Shinoda incorporates some hope, some love, and some absolute bangers. It's the sound of him slowly starting to come to terms with his situation, and making the decision to soldier on by making the best music he can.

The results can be a bit mixed, especially in the album's far-ranging back half; some tracks stick out from the album's overall feel because they lean a little heavier toward commercial aspirations (I'm looking at you, Ghosts) and not every guest appearance makes a ton of sonic sense (I'm looking at you, K. Flay). However, this is an album that, after a dozen or so spins, becomes less about how the thing sounds and more about how the thing feels. That catharsis Shinoda talks about is palpable, and Post Traumatic lays out the road map to moving on with your life in the face of such great loss effectively; it doesn't hurt that most of the songs are well executed and hold the listener's interest from one to the next.

Heartfelt, earnest and emotional, Post Traumatic isn't your typical solo debut; it's the sound of a man who's been through a hellacious year and found the strength to not just survive it, but to come out of it inspired and hopeful for the future.

June 15, 2018 • Warner Bros.
Highlights Watching As I Fall • Crossing a Line • Running From My Shadow