Mid-2008 Roundup: 10 Disappointing Albums

In the 2 years that Faronheit has been in existence (Happy 2nd Anniversary today!), I've gone on record at the start of every July with my Mid-Year Roundup. There are always 2 posts in this roundup. The first is 10 Disappointing Albums and the second is 10 Surprising Albums. In keeping with that tradition, we'll be doing 10 Disappointing Albums today.

I want to make it clear, as I do every year, that though I call this "10 Disappointing Albums," it by no means is intended to suggest that these are the "10 Worst Albums" or even that these albums are terrible. You'll read in a couple paragraphs when I say something like "this is a good album." The word "disappointing" is key here, simply to suggest it did not fully satisfy expectations. For example, in 2006 I put Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" among my "Disappointing Albums" list and at the end of that year it was on my "10 Best Albums" list. So (just about) anything goes! Have a look, listen to some of the songs I've provided, and weigh your own personal judgments in the comments.

One more note, for you: only albums released between Jan 1st and July 1st qualify for this list. Here's this year's "10 Disappointing Albums" in alphabetical order:

Foals- Antidotes (Download: Balloons)
In the late fall of 2007, I was all, "Hey everybody! Foals are totally the next big thing! Get on board now before their album 'Antidotes' hits and is awesome!" Then the album was released and...it wasn't nearly as good as projections might have you anticipate. So I sit here red-faced and upset that based on some early singles I've now been made a fool by this band. Okay, so I'm not REALLY that upset. Everybody gets a few "next big thing" labels wrong now and then, right? And to be completely fair, "Antidotes" isn't by any means a TERRIBLE album. It's just okay and not quite the mind-blowing experience that was being suggested prior to its release. At least Klaxons did an admirable job with their album last year in the face of that kind of hype. Foals still has some work to go. Let's hope their second record is much better.

Gnarls Barkley- The Odd Couple (Download: Whatever)
Am I one of the few people who thought the first Gnarls Barkley album was just okay with the exception of a few select songs? Those few really good songs helped make "St. Elsewhere" much better than it hypothetically should have been. Now here's "The Odd Couple," with fans hoping they'll maximize somehow on the early success achieved with the song "Crazy." News flash: I doubt Gnarls Barkley have another "Crazy" up their sleeves. "The Odd Couple" pretty much proves that not everything the duo does is solid gold. I've yet to hear a song off this new album anywhere on the radio, probably because radio can't find a hit. I apologize for sounding so negative here, but I'm just struggling hearing two people with so much musical potential (Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo) not quite living up to the high standards they should have set for themselves. Fingers crossed that they really find their way soon, provided they continue their collaboration.

The Long Blondes- Couples (Download: Guilt)
Prior to this album's release, I said a few nice things about it. I also noted that this was a decidedly different album for The Long Blondes compared to their last one, "Someone to Drive You Home." Singer Kate Jackson has taken things down a darker and more mature road with "Couples" and I was very intrigued with the songs early on as they expressed a wisdom and harsh reality you don't hear much these days. But the more I thought about it and the more I listened to it I came to the conclusion that this might not be the right path for The Long Blondes to be taking. The songs didn't stick with me as well as their last record. The fierceness and teenage angst led to some angry power anthems of strength before, whereas "Couples" has the feel of a person more fed up and depressed with life than one willing to fight back against antagonistic forces. Naturally then, "Couples" tries but ultimately fails in creating an equally compelling follow-up to that exceptional first album. Let's call it a sophmore slump.

The Mountain Goats- Heretic Pride (Download: Sax Rohmer #1)
Let's be clear here: "Heretic Pride" isn't a bad album. It's quite good, actually. But did you know that not every Mountain Goats album can be better than the last? Some people automatically assume a Mountain Goats album is great simply because it has the band's name on it. As much as John Darnielle tries, the man is by no means perfect. I loved "Get Lonely" as much as the next person, and that's why "Heretic Pride" feels a little like a step backwards. Moving away from extremely personal songwriting, Darnielle retreats back into the world of fictional characters with varying problems, this time holding down the theme of moral crises. Again, it's very good. Just not where I think The Mountain Goats should be right now.

My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges (Download: Aluminum Park)
It's a huge peanut butter surprise that this made my list of disappointing albums. Some might even call it "Highly Suspicious" that this winds up here. And while I could continue on with punny material until the cows come home, I'll stop after those two sentences. After a couple albums that showed My Morning Jacket making some fascinating improvements to their sound, "Evil Urges" is an album that finds the band confused about their current identity and where they might progress from here. There are shades of the older, better My Morning Jacket, along with hints of a far more progressive and ingenius band simmering underneath, but those great times are ruined by what feels like blatant pandering towards radio airplay and Frankenstein-like experiments into a land where Prince rules the world. It gets crazy, it goes nuts (Prince pun intended, last one I promise!), and about half the songs on this album are geniunely worth your time. This is exceptionally true for the song "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt. 2," which is probably on my shortlist of candidates for "Best Song of 2008" at this point of the year.

Santogold- Santogold (Download: L.E.S. Artistes)
Oh, I'm gonna get some flak for this one. Please remember that "disappointing" doesn't mean "bad." And why I find Santogold's album disappointing mostly has to do with overwhelming hype. Unlike a band like, say, Vampire Weekend who are re"vamp"ing an older sound from African beats and classic Paul Simon, Santogold's sound is very much rooted in today. The most specific and outright comparison I kept reading in discussions about this album was to M.I.A., who herself came on the music scene with a world beat sound that was unlike any other at the time. Now Santogold feels like her star is hitched on the coattails of M.I.A., though many will argue and I'll partially agree that the two don't sound THAT much alike. But most notably this reminds me of what happened with The Killers and The Bravery, where The Bravery's sound was ultimately a means to an end. Only in this case Santogold's debut album is MUCH better than The Bravery's. Yet I'm still struggling to get past the idea that she's somehow a second-rate M.I.A. Sorry, but that's what trips me up in this case.

Scarlett Johansson- Anywhere I Lay My Head (Download: Who Are You?)
Quite a few people whose opinions I had come to trust told me flat out that this Scarlett Johansson album was "actually pretty good." I was skeptical to the point where I avoided hearing anything from it (the single, "Falling Down," among others) until I actually could listen to the entire album start to finish. That finally happened a couple weeks before the album's release date, and to call it a letdown would be an understatement. After plenty of positive buzz I was simply annoyed with what I heard. Dave Sitek is the ONLY thing that saves this album, and from the sound of it he could probably save any terrible artist on the face of this earth with his production work. To be fair, Scarlett's voice isn't THAT bad, it's just sort of weak and occasionally off-key. First week sales of the album were just over 5,000 and that's less than Kevin Federline sold in a week. Perhaps this shouldn't have been made? Is anybody THAT interested in hearing covers of Tom Waits songs?

Tapes n' Tapes- Walk It Off (Download: Hang Them All)
People went nuts over "The Loon," and in some respects I can understand why. The songs were very rough and garage band but extremely well written and quite catchy at times. The whole "package" that was Tapes n' Tapes worked as an aesthetic and "lifestyle choice" if you will. Clearly the second time around they had some more money to work with and were feeling confident in how they had established themselves. I don't know if that led to cockiness or laziness, but the much cleaner production and slack songwriting made for an ineffective second album. This is almost like what happened with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but instead of trying too hard (which was CYHSY's misstep), it feels like they're okay with cranking out less catchy and generally boring songs. Or maybe they're just struggling to come up with new material that comes anywhere close to that older stuff. Whatever it is, one can only hope they learn from this slip and get up again to "walk it off."

Tokyo Police Club- Elephant Shell (Download: Juno)
Tokyo Police Club are suffering from what can now be labeled "Voxtrot syndrome" in that they released a couple of highly praised EPs, but ultimately failed when it came down to the full-length album. If you're an avid reader with an excellent memory, you may recall my very positive reaction to TPC's album "Elephant Shell," and I actually stand by every word in that writeup. The songs are fun, catchy and well-crafted. The whole thing still somehow clocks in at under 30 minutes in length, which I'm pretty sure other bands make EPs that are longer. And the length is one small problem, along with the fact that it almost feels like Tokyo Police Club struggle to maintain a certain energy and vigor through the duration. Plus it feels like they've done this before in their EPs. So let's call this just sort of a minor disappointment. There's much more good about this than bad.

We Are Scientists- Brain Thrust Mastery (Download: Let's See It)
We Are Scientists are a band I really want to like. They do plenty of things to make me want to like them. Their first album "With Love and Squalor" was charming and funny and cool at many points, but lacked staying power when all was said and done. In a sense it felt like they were one-note guys. So their second album "Brain Thrust Mastery" should have been an attempt to broaden what they'd already done. In some senses they accomplish that goal, but still stick mostly to the principles established on that debut. There's a few good songs, but ultimately I was left wondering if We Are Scientists are a band that wants us to view them as a joke or as serious musicians. Different songs suggest different things and now I'm just plain confused. And the songs still don't have that staying power I was looking for. Should I get my hopes up again for a third album that'll lift them to new heights? I'm not sure if I'm willing to give these guys another chance.

TOMORROW: Ten Surprising Albums

Labels: foals, gnarls barkley, midyear roundup, my morning jacket, santogold, scarlett johansson, tapes n tapes, the long blondes, the mountain goats, tokyo police club, we are scientists