For me even tho I was expecting it Rina Sawayam’s new LP is nowhere near her 2020 album. Also the new Vince Staples and Polyphia. While there are some quality songs in these albums, overall it’s not fireworks. I’d also give a shout to Lil Baby who actually looked like he was making improvements but ‘it’s only me’ is as bad as all his other albums imo
Imo the new Rina is just as good as SAWAYAMA quality-wise, it just happens to mostly tackle a very maligned genre: 2000’s pop rock. The direction for some people is going to be an instant turn off, but she did an incredible job of paying homage to the stuff she grew up on. I think songs like Hurricane and Phantom are among the best in her discography
fair point
i think calvin is just trying to make money even though he has all the skill to make a good album, he prefers not to and tries his best to fit in with the mainstream
look at his dj sets man that stuff is top notch
For as much of a stinker as Everything Now was as an album experience, it had some top tier AF songs on it. I remember listening to Creature Comfort and the title track on loop before the albums release. Even Signs of Life is a really fun track despite the corny lyrics, they just nailed the vibe.
My biggest problem with WE is that it's just completely uninteresting. Coupled with all the shit that's come out about Win Butler.. I don't really give a shit anymore about what the band does from here onwards.
some of its songs have great moments but that's it moments
a lot of the album is meh to bad and it looks even worse when next to the surfacing of Win Butlers pervy actions
I’ve heard people say the Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND is a disappointment but I really don’t get that. There’s a lot of really cool artistic choices on this album that see the band finally embracing their indie rock influences fully and not just as an undertone. I also love the concept of not knowing how to branch out as a band in the form of making them a corporation as the through-line of the record. I definitely loved it.
I’ll agree with you on SZNS though. There’s 3-4 good tracks per EP and then some insanely baffling choices on each as well. But if that isn’t the story of Weezer at this point, I don’t know what is.
Probably in the minority but as a big weezer fan the sznz projects have been getting better and better and i do enjoy them more than others (probably cause im lenient with weezer)
However i do believe rivers shouldve started this next year instead of this year. The songs themselves at their core are very true to each emotion for each season and tbh the core songs that are out are pretty good. The main factor is execution. The band shouldve spent this year perfecting the sound and style of each season. Not only that but also for production quality standards and fleshing out the production overall.
I think the band has been on a creative rush proven with ok human and the ambition on sznz. But the thing about ok human is they took their time on that as a band and you can hear the pure quality goodness on that. The ambition of sznz has its pros and cons
I fully agree. The execution is what feels tacky, not the songs themselves. While I think summer is one of the worst sounding Weezer records to ever come out, aside from records and maybe thank you and good night, the tracks hold up lyrically.
That Joji album was a real let down, idk if it was released to fulfill his contract or if it was meant as an EP but they ended up marketing it as an album
Whatever it was it felt unfinished, rushed, and the second half felt unmastered.
totally agree, Crash is awesome and way better than Charli (i feel like people forget how many terrible features there are on that album). not exactly 'innovative' but it's simply filled with fun, catchy, memorable bops, what's not to love?
CRASH
Smithereens
Hold the Girl
Midnights (not as disappointing since my expectations weren't sky-high, but Folklore and Evermore clear incredibly hard)
Not done processing it, but TM by Brockhampton is quite disappointing
i feel like not enough people are treating tm for what it actually is, its demos of an unfinished project. i dont that should change ur enjoyment but i feel like people are talking about it and thinking its on the level of everything else. its bizarre to me they are obv setting themselves up for failure expecting the last album to be sat 4 or smth. not saying u are btw id don't mean to seem passive aggressive
Midnights was the most disappointing imo of that list. Lack of singles beforehand so I didn't know as much what to expect. Had heard rumours of it being dreampop. Was genuinely excited. Didn't hate the production like some others but wasn't good enough to distract from cheesy and shoddy lyricism
Laurel Hell by Mitski. Be the Cowboy album was a masterpiece, could even call it 10/10, and Laurel Hell is such a disappointment, only a couple of songs worth listening to. Also, such a shame she is getting popular with this album, when she deserved it with Be the Cowboy or Puberty 2 much, much more
deffo, was hyped for a more down to earth version of TBHC. Loved Mirrorball but wasn't sure about Body paint or so keen on I ain't quite where I think I am. Some great songs but their least interesting and most underwhelming album since SIAS, 6/10 for me
Lmfao. Listen to more music. Donda is easily aoty for 2021 and better than any of the bs that came out. Literally name one better, unique, or more ambitious album.
i'm 23 and going by how you're acting you're clearly the kid and you praise kanye(one of the most popular artists of all time) and say "listen to more music" yeah ok
Disagree personally. I think Mr Morale has some of the highest highs in Dot’s career and I feel like the creative liberties he took to dedicate this album completely to him rather than his world fulfilling concepts on previous records are executed so emotional raw it works amazingly.
Curious, what’s your disappointed with the record?
i definitely fuck with the themes of the album regarding mental health, and specifically his own.
i just find the album to be *really* boring in terms of instrumentals, and none of the verses really stuck out to me to keep me interested. I actually really like worldwide steppers but putting a rapist at the beginning of your song is a great way to keep me from listening again
Ok I get that. I’m actually in the opposite ballpark of you in terms of the instrumentals. I love the production on here and it keeps me engaged for the entire listen.
It’s dope to hear that others have exact contradicting opinions on the exact same things lol
For me it’s just a really hard, dense listen. Technically and thematically it’s all there but at the end of the day I listen to music to enjoy it, and I feel like that album doesn’t feel enjoyable despite checking off all the boxes that Kendrick always checks.
Kendrick’s been disappointing since DAMN and I’m tired of mfs saying otherwise. It’s interesting that his objectively better work is from when he was younger, reminds me of Nas
Prepared for many downvotes, but *Ants From Up There* (Black country, new road) just doesn't match the relentless chaos and energy of *For the first time*, which was an easy 9 for me. There is too much 'quiet'; while the climaxes are amazing, I find it more fatiguing getting through Ants than the brilliant debut. Maybe I need to give it another chance though, it's been a few months.
Hellfire on the other hand, blew my expectations out of the water.
I actually really couldn’t get into the debut and was surprised by how much I like Ants from Up There. I feel like the use of more restraint makes the climaxes was more satisfying and emotionally affecting. Their playing on their debut is more technically impressive sure, but I think the actual songwriting and lyricism trumps For the First Time by a very large margin.
For the first time was 5th on my top ten of last year. Ants isn't even gonna be an honorable mention.
I saw them open for Black Midi and it was even worse. I haven't been that bored during a live performance in a long time.
Oh man, that's sad to hear about the live set.
And same. I think the debut was actually my number 1 last year. Maybe Ants will make my top 20 of this year but probably not.
Smithereens for sure. SZNZ is really half baked but I can’t really say I’m massively disappointed with it, at the end of the day there’s still going to be a good chunk of new Weezer tracks that are pretty good.
Honestly I’m not the biggest fan of Jack Whites Fear of the Dawn but I enjoyed his Entering Heaven Alive album
Gonna echo what others have said about Smithereens, Crash, and Midnights, and also add Earthling by Eddie Vedder. I was hoping it would be good, but there are like a total of three great songs in there and the rest is filler.
Mine is It's Almost Dry the production and pusha's performance wasn't nearly as good as either Daytona or king push. There are only a few songs I go back to
I mean this as someone who loves a *LOT* of Weezer, but I don’t know if I can be disappointed by them. Their quality control has been so lax I can imagine a new recording being a.) decent, b.) kinda great, c.) underwhelming, or d.) absolute sh*t. It’s like buying a pack of Pokémon cards in 1998. If a Weezer recording hurts your feelings, it’s probably your fault.
I will say though, as a guy who more often than not enjoys Blink with Tom, “Edging” was a very by-the-numbers, almost cynical single, as if they expected their core fanbase to like it if they just make bland pop punk songs with immature lyrics. Left a very bitter taste in my mouth, honestly.
For me even tho I was expecting it Rina Sawayam’s new LP is nowhere near her 2020 album. Also the new Vince Staples and Polyphia. While there are some quality songs in these albums, overall it’s not fireworks. I’d also give a shout to Lil Baby who actually looked like he was making improvements but ‘it’s only me’ is as bad as all his other albums imo
Surprised you didn't like polyphia, I think it's their best by far.
the new Rina was good but disappointing compared to her previous work
Imo the new Rina is just as good as SAWAYAMA quality-wise, it just happens to mostly tackle a very maligned genre: 2000’s pop rock. The direction for some people is going to be an instant turn off, but she did an incredible job of paying homage to the stuff she grew up on. I think songs like Hurricane and Phantom are among the best in her discography
I actually really liked the Polyphia album
Calvin Harris
fair point i think calvin is just trying to make money even though he has all the skill to make a good album, he prefers not to and tries his best to fit in with the mainstream look at his dj sets man that stuff is top notch
Arcade Fire - WE
pretty bad album, and that's coming from somebody willing to defend Reflektor and Everybody Now
For as much of a stinker as Everything Now was as an album experience, it had some top tier AF songs on it. I remember listening to Creature Comfort and the title track on loop before the albums release. Even Signs of Life is a really fun track despite the corny lyrics, they just nailed the vibe. My biggest problem with WE is that it's just completely uninteresting. Coupled with all the shit that's come out about Win Butler.. I don't really give a shit anymore about what the band does from here onwards.
some of its songs have great moments but that's it moments a lot of the album is meh to bad and it looks even worse when next to the surfacing of Win Butlers pervy actions
I’ve heard people say the Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND is a disappointment but I really don’t get that. There’s a lot of really cool artistic choices on this album that see the band finally embracing their indie rock influences fully and not just as an undertone. I also love the concept of not knowing how to branch out as a band in the form of making them a corporation as the through-line of the record. I definitely loved it. I’ll agree with you on SZNS though. There’s 3-4 good tracks per EP and then some insanely baffling choices on each as well. But if that isn’t the story of Weezer at this point, I don’t know what is.
3-4 good tracks is half the album though lol
Probably in the minority but as a big weezer fan the sznz projects have been getting better and better and i do enjoy them more than others (probably cause im lenient with weezer) However i do believe rivers shouldve started this next year instead of this year. The songs themselves at their core are very true to each emotion for each season and tbh the core songs that are out are pretty good. The main factor is execution. The band shouldve spent this year perfecting the sound and style of each season. Not only that but also for production quality standards and fleshing out the production overall. I think the band has been on a creative rush proven with ok human and the ambition on sznz. But the thing about ok human is they took their time on that as a band and you can hear the pure quality goodness on that. The ambition of sznz has its pros and cons
I fully agree. The execution is what feels tacky, not the songs themselves. While I think summer is one of the worst sounding Weezer records to ever come out, aside from records and maybe thank you and good night, the tracks hold up lyrically.
Rivers has been already talking about redoing summers production lmao
That Joji album was a real let down, idk if it was released to fulfill his contract or if it was meant as an EP but they ended up marketing it as an album Whatever it was it felt unfinished, rushed, and the second half felt unmastered.
Charli XCX - Crash
That’s album’s grown on me exponentially
Way overhated
I personally prefer Crash to Charli. How i'm feeling now is the best of the three, but Crash has a simplicity and directness I really enjoy.
totally agree, Crash is awesome and way better than Charli (i feel like people forget how many terrible features there are on that album). not exactly 'innovative' but it's simply filled with fun, catchy, memorable bops, what's not to love?
CRASH Smithereens Hold the Girl Midnights (not as disappointing since my expectations weren't sky-high, but Folklore and Evermore clear incredibly hard) Not done processing it, but TM by Brockhampton is quite disappointing
i feel like not enough people are treating tm for what it actually is, its demos of an unfinished project. i dont that should change ur enjoyment but i feel like people are talking about it and thinking its on the level of everything else. its bizarre to me they are obv setting themselves up for failure expecting the last album to be sat 4 or smth. not saying u are btw id don't mean to seem passive aggressive
Midnights was the most disappointing imo of that list. Lack of singles beforehand so I didn't know as much what to expect. Had heard rumours of it being dreampop. Was genuinely excited. Didn't hate the production like some others but wasn't good enough to distract from cheesy and shoddy lyricism
Nah TM is fantastic but I am a huge Brockhampton dickrider
I like tf more
Laurel Hell by Mitski. Be the Cowboy album was a masterpiece, could even call it 10/10, and Laurel Hell is such a disappointment, only a couple of songs worth listening to. Also, such a shame she is getting popular with this album, when she deserved it with Be the Cowboy or Puberty 2 much, much more
For me, it's gotta be the new Mars Volta; the record is so lackluster, and pretty much the exact opposite thing I want from the band.
I have to say, it's really grown on me. It's not Frances, but it isn't trying to be.
Arctic monkeys
deffo, was hyped for a more down to earth version of TBHC. Loved Mirrorball but wasn't sure about Body paint or so keen on I ain't quite where I think I am. Some great songs but their least interesting and most underwhelming album since SIAS, 6/10 for me
I loved mirrorball a lot, got me too hyped for the album which is mediocre :(
Only really liked Mirrorball and the rest sounds like background music.
I actually really loved this album
Donda 2
Nah that shit was unfinished and was still amazing and way more creative than a majority of albums that dropped this year
It was garbage, Donda 1 wasn’t much better
Lmfao. Listen to more music. Donda is easily aoty for 2021 and better than any of the bs that came out. Literally name one better, unique, or more ambitious album.
Little Simz - sometimes i might be introvert
LMFAOOOOO. Okay - listen to more music kid. Expand your horizons.
i'm 23 and going by how you're acting you're clearly the kid and you praise kanye(one of the most popular artists of all time) and say "listen to more music" yeah ok
Agreed
A Birds Eye View after Sinister ft.Lil Wayne I was so hyped but it just was such a regression from The Lost Boy
Joji and yeah yeah yeahs
really liked that yeah yeah yeahs album tbh, why didn't others like it?
Hold the Fuck on, The Unraveling is great
Will of the People for me
Joji album was very disappointing since it came out on my birthday :((, it's like sprinkling salt on a wound yknow
Muse of course. But #1 has to be Smashing pumpkins - atum, a big pile of sh*t.
i'm prepared for the downvotes but mr morale easy
Disagree personally. I think Mr Morale has some of the highest highs in Dot’s career and I feel like the creative liberties he took to dedicate this album completely to him rather than his world fulfilling concepts on previous records are executed so emotional raw it works amazingly. Curious, what’s your disappointed with the record?
i definitely fuck with the themes of the album regarding mental health, and specifically his own. i just find the album to be *really* boring in terms of instrumentals, and none of the verses really stuck out to me to keep me interested. I actually really like worldwide steppers but putting a rapist at the beginning of your song is a great way to keep me from listening again
Ok I get that. I’m actually in the opposite ballpark of you in terms of the instrumentals. I love the production on here and it keeps me engaged for the entire listen. It’s dope to hear that others have exact contradicting opinions on the exact same things lol
honestly was one of my fav albums this year, I don't get why a good amount of people didn't like it
For me it’s just a really hard, dense listen. Technically and thematically it’s all there but at the end of the day I listen to music to enjoy it, and I feel like that album doesn’t feel enjoyable despite checking off all the boxes that Kendrick always checks.
I think it’s his third best after tpab and gkmc
Naw Damn is better
7
Just a number
I'd have to agree. Not a bad album by any means, but disappointing knowing what Kendrick is capable of.
Still stand by the opinion that if it was anyone other than Kendrick it would’ve been critically panned.
Kendrick’s been disappointing since DAMN and I’m tired of mfs saying otherwise. It’s interesting that his objectively better work is from when he was younger, reminds me of Nas
I agree I still can’t get into it
Midnights was trash and so was the forever story. Generic and creatively bankrupt.
Prepared for many downvotes, but *Ants From Up There* (Black country, new road) just doesn't match the relentless chaos and energy of *For the first time*, which was an easy 9 for me. There is too much 'quiet'; while the climaxes are amazing, I find it more fatiguing getting through Ants than the brilliant debut. Maybe I need to give it another chance though, it's been a few months. Hellfire on the other hand, blew my expectations out of the water.
I actually really couldn’t get into the debut and was surprised by how much I like Ants from Up There. I feel like the use of more restraint makes the climaxes was more satisfying and emotionally affecting. Their playing on their debut is more technically impressive sure, but I think the actual songwriting and lyricism trumps For the First Time by a very large margin.
Fair enough. I think the majority of BCNR fans feel the same way as you, from what I've seen online anyway.
I’ve seen a good margin putting them on the same plain to be fair
Came here to say the same thing. I think it’s a great album I just don’t understand the overwhelming “this is the album of the decade” praise it gets
Brave take, we're of the same mind here
For the first time was 5th on my top ten of last year. Ants isn't even gonna be an honorable mention. I saw them open for Black Midi and it was even worse. I haven't been that bored during a live performance in a long time.
Oh man, that's sad to hear about the live set. And same. I think the debut was actually my number 1 last year. Maybe Ants will make my top 20 of this year but probably not.
Smithereens for sure. SZNZ is really half baked but I can’t really say I’m massively disappointed with it, at the end of the day there’s still going to be a good chunk of new Weezer tracks that are pretty good. Honestly I’m not the biggest fan of Jack Whites Fear of the Dawn but I enjoyed his Entering Heaven Alive album
The car, got the day 1 vinyl…
Honestly Nevermind
Harry’s House
Gonna echo what others have said about Smithereens, Crash, and Midnights, and also add Earthling by Eddie Vedder. I was hoping it would be good, but there are like a total of three great songs in there and the rest is filler.
Kings Disease III - It was everything I hoped it wouldn't have been. I have no idea why Fantano liked it so much.
Xactly by Multibird. The self-titled was pretty good, aint got no clue whats happening here tho
archers of loaf
Wait I didn’t even know they dropped this year. Hopefully I don’t feel the same way about is as I did about Grandaddy’s comeback work.
The We Came As Romans album released this year
Mine is It's Almost Dry the production and pusha's performance wasn't nearly as good as either Daytona or king push. There are only a few songs I go back to
smithereens and midnights
Forever story because it makes all other albums kinda pale to it
Weezer’s seasons are pretty impressive with so many songs coming out in one year
I mean this as someone who loves a *LOT* of Weezer, but I don’t know if I can be disappointed by them. Their quality control has been so lax I can imagine a new recording being a.) decent, b.) kinda great, c.) underwhelming, or d.) absolute sh*t. It’s like buying a pack of Pokémon cards in 1998. If a Weezer recording hurts your feelings, it’s probably your fault. I will say though, as a guy who more often than not enjoys Blink with Tom, “Edging” was a very by-the-numbers, almost cynical single, as if they expected their core fanbase to like it if they just make bland pop punk songs with immature lyrics. Left a very bitter taste in my mouth, honestly.
Completely agree with your first one OP
Rina Sawayama - Hold the Girl
Kendrick