Shinoda writes, "We're hard at work making some new music for you. The six of us have been more than enthusiastic about how this album is shaping up, and I'm happy to share this update!

"As usual during an early stage, we don't know a ton about where the songs will end up. They change shapes over and over during the writing process, and we usually write dozens of songs, which push each other in and out of contention for a spot on the final album.

"One thing that's making this album unique (so far) is the process. When we started out as a band, we often started our songs focusing almost entirely on the musical 'track," with no vocals until the end of the process. The vocals were usually forced into the existing chords and structure of the song, which often times meant that some ideas we loved never "made it," because good words or good melodies never showed up, even though we liked the music. Over time, we've started incorporating vocals earlier and earlier in the process, usually in the form of skat 'la la la" vocals and gibberish words. Many of those demos have been shared as a part of our LPU albums.

"But this time, we decided to go even further, and write more 'traditionally.' We're starting with the most fundamental parts of the songs--the words and vocal melodies--and completely fleshing out those ideas before we begin working out the music. That means right now, we're only focusing on the foundations upon which the songs are built. Some songs are just one piano, keyboard, or guitar, and a vocal. The concept and words of the song are front and center. We've even invited some new friends into the studio to bounce ideas off (more to come on that later).

"So far, the new approach is paying off. The new stuff is really powerful, and the stories and emotional content is really shining through. We're going to continue on this path until we feel like we've got more than enough material to begin the 'sound" phase.