List month rages on Ladies and Gentlemen! This is a list that obviously, I didn't want to do. It's something that no one wants to think about, bad albums. These are a collection of albums this year that were the hardest to sit through and even harder to chat about. As always, this is all opinion folks. Stay tuned Friday for my list of Honorable mentions for Album of the year!
Top 10 Worst Albums
10. The Flaming Lips - “Oczy Mlody” - Now, I’ve had a pretty off and on relationship with The Flaming Lips for years. I feel like for every 3 or 4 albums they come out with I usually only really love one of them. I did have high hopes for this one though hearing just how interesting the production was on the opening singles. Not to mention, the sort of downtrodden, gloomy, dystopic atmosphere of the opening tracks was actually to die for. But it became apparent very quickly that this is more or less a Wayne Coyne solo project in some bizarre way. The rest of The Flaming Lips are barely even present for the later moments here, and Wayne’s mostly lackluster performances really end up letting me down.
9. Arcade Fire - “Everything Now” - Hearing the opening title track to this one, had me hyped beyond belief. It was upbeat, catchy, and everything that I loved about Arcade Fire in the past. But outside of that one tune and about 2 others, this album is almost completely lifeless. Arcade Fire have been masters of the subtle, classy Protest song for years. But in this case, it’s just so unbearably boring. There are countless moments on here where quite frankly Arcade Fire don’t even sound like themselves, and their once deep and passionate performances come off incredibly watered down. Sure, tracks like “Creature Comfort” are still solid, but the rest of this album compared to the rest of Arcade Fire’s discography is an absolute mess.
8. Temples - “Volcano” - Being a big ol’ fan of modern music with a retro twist, you think that I would just be obsessed with Temples. Sadly, that’s far from the case. Temples have once again given me an album that has like, one or two solid singles, followed by a series of tracks that are so incredibly boring. Half of this album Temples try way too hard to be Tame Impala, and the other half just end up coming off so incredibly boring. Now, I will say this, Temples do probably have something special with this new, more electronic sound. But for now, they're just so unbelievably lost, not having a distinct sound at all.
7. Gone Is Gone - "Echolocation" - I mean, if you're interested hearing Mastodon incredibly watered down to a nearly depressing level, this is gonna be a real treat for you. But for me, someone who grew up with Mastodon, this side project is absolute trash. Gone Is Gone is a Sludge Metal supergroup made up of Troy Sanders of Mastodon, Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age, Alex Hajjar of At The Drive-In, and Mike Zarin. Now, seeing that lineup you would think this would be a pretty decent sounding group. But these 4 have absolutely no chemistry with one another. While there are portions of songs here that I actually don't mind one bit, and there are a few good ideas here and there, this album is a chore to sit through.
6. Dan Auerbach - "Waiting On A Song" - Oh Dan, where did it go so wrong? Dan Auerbach while leading the Black Keys became the essence of cool. Hell, his first solo album isn't bad at all, it's actually pretty darn solid. But this new album is a truly bizarre twist for Dan. Once a master of modern Blues, Dan here takes a swing at incredibly sun-shiny folk rock. Which on paper doesn't sound THAT bad. But I can assure you, I've heard ABBA songs in my life with more edge than this. I always knew that Dan would eventually make some more Pop-centered material, but I didn't think it was going to be this nauseating.
5. Baio - “Man Of The World” - I’m going to make this one very short and simple. Chris, I really don't give a shit about where you live. I don't care about how much money you have. There's a very good reason why you haven't been given more floor time in Vampire Weekend's music. I don't want to hear about your Politics. When is the new Vampire Weekend album coming out?
4. Drake - “More Life” - 2017 for me will go down as the year that I officially ran out of excuses. I’ve been a massive fan of Drake for years, and even at his worst moments, I’ve been able to find something about his projects that I enjoy. But then “More Life” happened, and every excuse I’ve ever had for Drake subsequently flew right out the window. This album is incredibly long, tasteless, and worst of all boring. Drake in the last few years has been criticized for ushering in this age of “Fake Dancehall”. And if you’re one of the people that believe that, trust me, hearing this album will drive you over the edge. “More Life” is painful, and I never want to hear Drake mumble in a fake British accent ever again. However, “Passionfruit” is an AWESOME pop tune, end of story.
3. Foster The People - “Sacred Hearts Club” - Now, when Foster The People exploded a few years ago, I was totally open to their style of Indie Pop. Sure, it wasn’t gritty or wild or anything outrageous, but it was certainly sweet and more than anything catchy. That time has left us however, because I have no honest to God idea what the hell happened on this album. There are, no joke, EDM sounding tunes on here. I don’t want to hear EDM from EDM artists, let alone Indie Pop bands. Not to mention, the sleazy lyrics and steamy atmospheres are far from flattering. I will give Foster The People this, these guys desperately needed an image change and I think a heavier sound IS the answer. But the sound they give us here is quite frankly not that. And not for nothing, “Loyal Like Sid and Nancy” is hands down the worst song I’ve heard all year.
2. Morrissey - “Axe The Monarchy” - Morrissey is a legend, that’s for sure. Morrissey also has a legendary ego, and that’s absolutely for sure. On “Axe The Monarchy”, that ego gets out of control very fast. The first few tunes on here, are actually really good, to the point where I would honestly say these are some of his best in years. On the other hand, the final tracks on this album are a handful of his worst. Things go from sweet and lovable to bloated and political instantly. By the end of the album, it’s clear that this isn’t a classic Morrissey album, not even close. No longer is it about the “Pissy” attitude, wonderfully crafted lyrics, and downtrodden love tunes. No, this album is all about Morrissey, and his outlandish beliefs. Not even that, his beliefs have just gotten so out of control. They aren’t liberal or conservative, they’re completely off the map, and it’s tough to listen to.
1. Prophets of Rage - “Prophets of Rage” - Ladies and Gentlemen, the absolute worst thing I had to listen to (outside of that new Eminem, you sir are lucky I had this all written out). And trust me, I saw it coming too. As a matter of fact, if you gave me a list last January of everything coming out this year, I would have easily been able to tell you that this was going to be a mess. But it’s much worse than you could ever imagine, it’s an absolute disaster. For one, Chuck D, Tom Morello and B. Real have zero chemistry with one another. Second of all, there’s no purpose to this album. Public Enemy, Rage Against The Machine, all the acts that made up this supergroup always had purpose. But most of all, the anger on this album is just so unfocused. Now, I get it. It’s 2017, and people are not happy, and want to protest through music. But you see, artists like Father John Misty protested through their music, and made it classy and creative. The pure, unadulterated anger on this album is almost laughable. The result is a series of tracks that go nowhere, and have each performing member sounding like they would rather be anywhere else in the world. Stay clear of this one folks.
No comments:
Post a Comment