Shelby Smith (Jocosity)

One More Light is an album that whispers loudly to those who have dealt with personal demons of addiction, suicide ideation, depression, and anxiety. LP has always been a staple of the music landscape since Hybrid Theory back in the early 2000s and that maturation is evident in every song. The righteous anger found in their earlier works is torn open here to reveal a nuanced depiction of the loneliness and frustration with one's own thoughts and actions. I was 8 when I started listening to LP in my older brother's bedroom after school and I was 22 when One More Light was released. In that fourteen year span I had lost both a childhood friend and a close family member to suicide, dealt with my own depression and anxiety and felt a general sense of loss over what propelled me when I was younger. Like LP's sound, I had changed significantly. The anger of Hybrid Theory wasn't there anymore and like many of the dissenting voices at the time, I wasn't sure I liked the change. But One More Light spoke to those dark, tired moments and said, "no matter what, someone cares". My depressive episodes span weeks and sometimes months out of the year, and each time this album is what carries me through them. In 2017, Chester took his life and the damage that caused to the world cannot be understated. It is one of the few 'celebrity' deaths that still effects me to this day where I can't help but cry when I hear his voice. One More Light is now tinged with bittersweet moments of retrospection that makes you feel the space he left behind intimately.