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Post Traumatic

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(Redirected from I.O.U. (Mike Shinoda song))
This article is about the full-length album. For the EP, see Post Traumatic (EP). For other uses, see Post-traumatic.

"Crossing a Line" redirects here. For the book by Amahl Bishara, see Crossing a Line (book).
Post Traumatic
Studio album by
Mike Shinoda
ReleasedJune 15, 2018 (2018-06-15)
RecordedAugust 2017–January 2018
Studio
Genre
Length53:04
Label
ProducerMike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda chronology
Post Traumatic EP
(2018) 		Post Traumatic
(2018) 		Dropped Frames, Vol. 1
(2020)
Singles from Post Traumatic
  1. "Crossing a Line" / "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore"
    Released: April 3, 2018[2]
  2. "Make It Up as I Go"
    Released: August 28, 2018[3]

Post Traumatic is the debut solo studio album by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda. Released on June 15, 2018 under Shinoda's own name instead of his Fort Minor moniker, it is his second solo studio album after Fort Minor's The Rising Tied. The album was announced on March 29, 2018, along with the release of two songs to promote the album, "Crossing a Line" and "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore".[4][5][6][7] "Crossing a Line" and "Make It Up as I Go" were issued to radio stations as the album's two official singles.

Shinoda himself served as the primary producer of the album but with additional production on a few tracks by BASECAMP, Andrew Dawson, and Boonn. Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson, Blackbear, K.Flay, Deftones lead vocalist Chino Moreno, Machine Gun Kelly, Ross Golan, Kevin Hissink (Boonn), and Grandson helped write some songs, though most were written by Shinoda.

The album contains content Shinoda recorded mostly by himself but additional instruments were played by Linkin Park drummer Rob Bourdon, Darren King, and Boonn with the content having been written by Shinoda after the death of his Linkin Park bandmate Chester Bennington on July 20, 2017. The three songs from the Post Traumatic EP are included as the first three songs of this album. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Background

[edit]

On January 25, 2018, Shinoda revealed his second project as a solo artist with the release of the Post Traumatic EP, consisting of three tracks focusing on his feelings after the death of his Linkin Park bandmate and longtime friend Chester Bennington, who died by suicide on July 20, 2017.[8] Precisely because of the issues addressed in the songs, Shinoda decided to publish the album in his name, without using his previous pseudonym, Fort Minor.[9]

In early March, he unexpectedly announced that he was working on a solo album, inviting fans to meet him that day in Los Angeles to hear a new song and to join a music video.[10] The inviting fans' event was documented and featured on the music video of "Crossing a Line". The album was finally announced on March 29, which includes the three tracks on the EP,[6] and according to a statement by Shinoda, "It's a journey out of grief and darkness, not into grief and darkness. If someone went through something like that, I hope you feel less alone. If it has not happened, I hope you feel grateful."[11]

In May 2018, Shinoda unveiled the tracklist, which included collaborations with Blackbear, Grandson, K.Flay, Machine Gun Kelly, and Deftones frontman Chino Moreno.[12]

Every song in the album has its own music video. All of the album's tracks were solely produced by Shinoda.[13]

Composition

[edit]

The album begins with the three songs released on the Post Traumatic EP as the "grieving or lamenting" segment of the album. As described by Shinoda in an interview with KROQ, the album "goes from Nine Inch Nails vibes to N.W.A vibes." Some of the music is dark and grieving music while other music is upbeat and about different subjects. In an interview with Vulture, Shinoda describes,

In the beginning, I didn't care what I made as long as I was doing something. Sometimes it would just be for fun, and then eventually I was making some serious stuff about what was going on with me, and those became the first three songs I put out. Since then, I've kept going and realized that, since grief is such a personal thing, this had to be a solo album. I'm basically trying to sum up in the most truthful way the things that are happening in my head as I go. Some days that's really dark, and some days it's totally not. Hopefully as I go, the lighter days become more frequent.

— Mike Shinoda[14]

Writing and recording

[edit]

Shinoda wrote most of the music on the album himself, but songs like "About You", "Make It Up as I Go", "Lift Off" and "Running from My Shadow" were written with co-writers including: Brad Delson, Blackbear, K.Flay, Chino Moreno, Machine Gun Kelly, Ross Golan, Kevin Hissink and grandson. A leftover song from Linkin Park's last album One More Light, "Place to Start", features percussion from band member Rob Bourdon. Darren King also provided percussion for "Hold It Together". Boonn produced and provided additional guitars for "Running from My Shadow". The album, primarily being produced by Shinoda, was also provided with additional production on few tracks by BASECAMP, Andrew Dawson and Boonn.

Shinoda also stated recording this album helped him in many ways but was a difficult thing to do. As he explained to Kerrang!,

A week after Chester passed, the idea of the studio was scary. And it wasn't just the idea of attempting to make a song and being overwhelmed by those memories. There's another layer of fear for artists in this situation that is, 'What if I can't make anything good [without that person]?' Those hurdles start to accumulate, whether that's fear or depression or the chaos of the outside world, it creates an echo chamber of anxiety. That was one of the things for me, I needed to make some stuff - whether it was usable or not didn't matter. I was making bad '90s grunge songs, making bad rap songs... and then I made something good. I'd make all these things with no intention of putting them out, but just diving into some of the ideas that were already in my head.

— Mike Shinoda

The music was recorded at Shinoda's home studio The Stockroom in Los Angeles.

Artwork and packaging

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The album artwork features a signature of Shinoda over a painting of his. Shinoda was helped by Frank Maddocks, who has previously contributed to artworks for Deftones, Green Day's Revolution Radio and Linkin Park's One More Light.

The album was made available with an art book by Shinoda and Maddocks which is a double-sided 9" x 12" book includes expanded and exclusive full-color album art and images of Shinoda's painting series for "Post Traumatic" on one side, and coloring pages of original art when flipped over. The soft-cover art book was available bound with a clear O-card slipcase and includes the CD tucked inside a baby jacket.

On December 7, 2018, the vinyl edition was re-released with a bonus 10", featuring previously unreleased songs. This edition is notable with its slightly altered album artwork.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Kerrang![17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[1]

The album received mostly positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has a positive score of 73 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic praised the album, stating that "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."[16] In a positive review, Ilana Kaplan from the Independent called the album a "triumphant debut", giving 4 stars out of 5.[1] Dave Simpson from The Guardian, noted that although Post Traumatic contains "flaws", he said that "its raw emotion is unusually touching and many will find it a source of tears, strength and comfort", giving 4 out of 5 stars to the album.[18] Kerrang! praised the album altogether stating "It's an important, thoughtful album that will serve to unite the grief-stricken with a new-found sense of purpose to find some form of healing."[17]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by and produced by Mike Shinoda, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Place to Start"  2:13
2."Over Again"  3:50
3."Watching as I Fall"  3:31
4."Nothing Makes Sense Anymore"  3:33
5."About You" (featuring Blackbear)
  • Shinoda
  • Jordan Reyes
  • Aaron Harmon
3:26
6."Brooding" (Instrumental)  2:31
7."Promises I Can't Keep"  3:22
8."Crossing a Line"  4:02
9."Hold It Together"  3:25
10."Ghosts"  2:54
11."Make It Up as I Go" (featuring K.Flay)
 3:29
12."Lift Off" (featuring Chino Moreno and Machine Gun Kelly)
  • Shinoda
  • Andrew Dawson
4:00
13."I.O.U."  2:42
14."Running from My Shadow" (featuring Grandson)
  • Shinoda
  • Boonn
3:24
15."World's on Fire"  3:15
16."Can't Hear You Now"  3:27
Total length:53:04
Colored vinyl bonus 10" and digital deluxe bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Prove You Wrong"3:35
18."What the Words Meant"3:33
Total length:60:24

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and AllMusic.[19]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 33
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 18
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[25] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 42
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 77
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[29] 20
Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 82
Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 15
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[32] 29
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[33] 34
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 40
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[35] 23
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[36] 11
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 19
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] 26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[40] 20
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[41] 2
US Billboard 200[42] 16
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[43] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[44] 1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Kaplan, Ilana (June 12, 2018). "Album reviews: Christina Aguilera, Mike Shinoda, Chromeo and more". The Independent. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  2. ^ "Rock Future Releases". AllAccess. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "Alternative Future Releases". AllAccess. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Young, Alex (March 29, 2018). "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda announces new solo album, Post Traumatic". Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Jones, Abby (March 29, 2018). "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda to Release Debut Solo Album 'Post Traumatic'". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (March 29, 2018). "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Previews 'Post Traumatic' LP With Two New Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  7. ^ Dickman, Maggie (March 29, 2018). "Mike Shinoda announces solo album, debuts two new songs—listen". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mike Shinoda Has Released A Surprise EP". Kerrang!. January 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Drops Surprise EP, 'Post Traumatic'". Blabbermouth.net. January 25, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Childers, Chad (March 11, 2018). "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Meets with L.A. Fans, Confirms Work on New Solo Album". Loudwire. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  11. ^ Serota, Maggie (March 29, 2018). "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Announces Solo Album, Releases Two New Songs". Spin. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Linkin Park: Mike Shinoda svela la tracklist del nuovo album "Post Traumatic" ricco di ospiti. Tutti i dettagli" (in Italian). Virgin Radio. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "POST TRAUMATIC (MUSIC VIDEOS) - Mike Shinoda - YouTube". YouTube.
  14. ^ Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda on Life After Chester Bennington Vulture March 29, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Post Traumatic by Mike Shinoda Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Post Traumatic by Mike Shinoda Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Kerrang! June 9". Kerrang!. June 9, 2018. p. 53. ...It's an important, thoughtful album that will serve to unite the grief-stricken with a new-found sense of purpose to find some form of healing.
  18. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (June 15, 2018). "Mike Shinoda: Post Traumatic review – grief for Chester Bennington". The Guardian. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "Post Traumatic – Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  24. ^ "Xxxtentacion's Death Spurs Surge In Album Catalogue". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  25. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 25.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  29. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2018. 25. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  30. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Mike Shinoda". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  31. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  32. ^ "Post Traumatic on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  33. ^ "Mike Shinoda". Oricon. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  34. ^ "Charts.nz – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  35. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  36. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  38. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  39. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  40. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  41. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  42. ^ "Top 200 Albums: June 30, 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  43. ^ "{{{artist}}} Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  44. ^ "{{{artist}}} Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
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