Post Traumatic (2LP)

Following the sudden loss of his friend and Linkin Park co-vocalist Chester Bennington in July 2017, Mike Shinoda turned to music to process his grief. The resulting effort, Post Traumatic, is a cathartic song arc that carries Shinoda through darkness and into light, offering hope and counseling to himself, his band, and their legions of fans. From the condolence voicemails that end opening track "Place to Start" to the journal-like account of "Over Again" (which recounts Shinoda's swirling emotions leading up to Linkin Park's Hollywood Bowl memorial show), Post Traumatic is his journey through the stages of loss, grief, and healing. He reveals his uncertainty about the future of the band, unmoored without his professional partner, and the frustrations of dealing with fans and loved ones as he's in the midst of his own confusion. Despite the heartbreaking lyrical inspiration, Post Traumatic is bright and catchy, incorporating trap, grime, pop, and industrial influences into a familiar formula. Honoring Fort Minor's hip-hop heartbeat and Linkin Park's raw lyrical bloodletting, the album cements itself as a Mike Shinoda solo production, with its genre-hopping experimentation, endearing earnestness, and deeply personal perspective. The first half remains understandably forlorn and full of angst, from the hard-hitting "Watching as I Fall" to the contemplative "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore." On the Blackbear-featuring "About You," Shinoda makes one of many efforts to snap himself out of the funk, spitting "I bucked up/told myself to suck it up." On the aptly titled "Crossing a Line," the tone of the album shifts, making way for pop-friendly blurs "Hold It Together" and "Ghosts" that kick off the second -- and more fiery -- half of Post Traumatic. "Make It Up as I Go" is a radio-ready duet with K.Flay that pops with production similar to the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar's "Pray for Me." Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and Machine Gun Kelly join Shinoda on the atmospheric "Lift Off," and trap-rocker Grandson adds heft to "Running from My Shadow," a rousing track that sounds like Macklemore fronting Twenty One Pilots. The album draws to a close with the positive "World's on Fire" -- where he sings to a supportive loved one, "the world's on fire/all I need is you" -- and the bittersweet goodbye "Can't Hear You Now." While Post Traumatic takes an emotional toll, it ultimately instills feelings of hope and the idea that things can get better. For Shinoda, Linkin Park, and their devoted followers, it's an effective group therapy session. ~ Neil Z. Yeung