" Disappointment comes in many forms and is often due to expectations. For instance, I wasn’t expecting Muse to return to form with Drones after having been let down by the past two albums. And the first single squashed any glimmer of hope. And the same could be said for Coldplay’s album, which leaked yesterday. […]"
MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS OF 2015
Disappointment comes in many forms and is often due to expectations. For instance, I wasn’t expecting Muse to return to form with Drones after having been let down by the past two albums. And the first single squashed any glimmer of hope. And the same could be said for Coldplay’s album, which leaked yesterday. Judging by the initial response, it’s mediocre at best. Which is again, not a surprise after two disappointing albums.
Then there are albums which are disappointing because as a fan you had hoped the artist took another direction. I would place Lana Del Rey’s Honeymoon album in this category. It’s not a bad album but I was hoping for a new iteration of Lana Del Rey, similar to the genre jump she made between the debut and her sophomore album. Similar with CHVRCHES. The band stated, early in the recording process, that they were not aiming to do something different – But to make a better version of their first record. For me, I would rather take the risk of having a band explore new sounds, then to repeat their previous success. And in the end, I think the second album is disappointing because it’s not as good as the first.
And then there’s way too much hype, coupled with some terrific singles. A$AP Rocky blew me away with his single L$D, both the song and the video. But when the album hit, it had the same problems as the first one – Too many fillers, and A$AP’s lyrics are still horrendous at times.
And I’ve really tried to like Julia Holter’s acclaimed album. I bought it on vinyl just to have it on repeat. Everyone was raving about this indie darling. But in the end I just didn’t get it. I’m thinking that there’s something wrong with me – On paper it seems to be one of the best albums of the year. But no, it took me a long time to admit – It just doesn’t stick.
These are all my own personal thoughts. Believe me, I know that my taste in music is somewhat skewed. I still think “i” is the best track on Kendrick Lamar’s beloved record, and I don’t really listen to the rest. I also thought Wu-Tang Clan and Foster The People made two of the best albums last year. Yup, something’s wrong.
But what are your most disappointing albums of 2015? Don’t get me wrong – 2015 is and was an amazing year. But fandom and hype is known to screw with your mind – And sometimes the anticipation of an album builds expectations which are impossible to deliver. I mean, Radiohead should name their upcoming album “B-sides”, The Stone Roses should never actually release a comeback album and Kanye’s SWISH should be renamed to “My Spoken Word LP” just to completely crush all hope and get some grounded expectations.
Nominate your picks in the comments below!
Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls : Maiden hasn’t put out a quality listen from start to finish since “Brave New World”.
Josh Ritter – Sermon On The Rocks : Holy hell, what happened? This guy barely missed on a single song early in his career. This is a total misfire to me.
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly : Nope. I don’t “get” it, I guess.
Antimatter – The Judas Table : Antimatter put out some of my favourite dark wave/trip hop records early in their carrer. And then someone decided they should be “Staind” part 2. No thanks.
Dr. Dre – Compton : After all this time… this? A few great bangers, but too much filler.
Grimes – Art Angels : I do REALLY like this record. So I can’t say I’m totally disappointed. I just had my own expectations that I would be totally addicted to it and not be able to stop spinning it. It’s still really good, however.
*these of course are all just my personal opinion. :)
I don’t really follow on your criticism of Antimatter – their last two albums have easily been their best. Patterson’s iron grip on the content of earlier albums, I find, had a decidedly negative effect on them. Of course, it could just be the fact that I care for very little trip hop music.
State Champs – Around the world and back was pretty horrible, especially because I was pretty hyped for it. :(
I don’t agree, but I didn’t go into it expecting much, it does fall down compared to The Finer Things
I wouldn’t say horrible, it’s just that the only good songs on the record were the singles they released, the rest all sound the same. But disappointing nonetheless coming after The Finer Things.
I’m not saying these albums are bad. No, they’re excellent. Just not as good as I expected them to be!
Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
Plain White T’s – American Nights
Hedley – Hello
I wasn’t expecting anything good from FOB, but their album was worse than my expectations… which were already extremely low!
Fall Out Boy – American Beauty/American Psycho
Yeah, I agree about hype and fandom screwing with what judgement. I really love the new Coldplay album for example, but I get why other people wouldn’t like it.
My most disappointing album this year is probably Plain White T’s ‘American Nights’. Now, I know they’re not exactly known for producing quality records but damn. I was really hoping they’d step it up somehow. Absolute let down.
Most of the tracks had leaked back when they first released the Should’ve Gone To Bed EP. This includes You Belong and Here Come That Sunrise. Because of these two amazing songs, I was expecting something magnificent from them. But instead, they came out with Pause, Stay, and all these other songs… Maybe the next album? ;)
Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon was my top1 dissapoiting of the year.
Exactly. What a disappointment!
Ellie Goulding. Regression. A generic pop album.
Grimes – Art Angels (She just went in the opposite direction I wanted her to go, not a bad album just a little more poppier than I wanted it to be)
Miley Cyrus and The Flaming Lips – Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (Dissapointed in the flaming lips for being involved with this)
Belle and Sebastian – Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
“Honeymoon” by Lana del Rey
“English Grafitti” by The Vaccines
I would like to choose A$AP Rocky and Big Sean’s new album
Top ten most disappointing albums this year:
1. “The Secret Service” – The Hoosiers
2. “Vitals” – MuteMath
3. “Run” – Awolnation
4. “Wiped Out!” – The Neighbourhood
5. “Happiness in Self-Destruction” – The Plot in You
6. “‘Till the End” – Phinehas
7. “Coma Ecliptic” – Between the Buried and Me
8. “Walk the Plank” – Zebrahead
9. “GO:OD AM” – Mac Miller
10. “Coward” – Haste the Day
I’ve grown to really like #2 – It’s one of my top 5 of the year, but it is not at all what I was expecting. I think #3 is by far my most disappointing album of the year. Is there a single good song on that album? Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)? Is that it?
How is Haste the Day and Phinehas on that list and NOT Bring Me the Horizon?
Dr. Dre – Compton
A$AP Rocky – ALLA
Control by Milo Greene
Coheed and Cambria – The Color Before the Sun.
Everything about The Color is worse than their previous album, which I loved
Tracker by Mark Knopfler was quite boring.
I would throw in
Twin Shadow – Eclipse: My #1 disappointment. After two really great albums he comes out with this load of cheese?
Beirut – No No No: So forgettable I almost forgot to list it.
The Libertines – Anthem for a Doomed Youth: Not bad, but not really good either. The edges are definitely gone.
Modest Mouse – Strangers to Ourselves
Blur – The Magic Whip
no no no no what is wrong with you?!
Maybe Blur’s album, I honestly never listened to the official. I downloaded the early leaked demos that sounded more like the Gorillaz.
Strangers to Ourselves, on the other hand, is pretty damn good.
American Beauty/American Psycho by Fall Out Boy was garbage, a shame too since Saving Rock & Roll was actually good.
Kendrick Lamar’s – To Pimp A Butterfly
worst album of 2015. worst music Kendrick has ever put out. i Love Kendrick, but this album was trash besides “Blacker the Berry” and “i”
25 by Adele.. album isn’t bad but I expected it to be some of her best work yet. personally for me, only the ballads did it justice. everything else kinda sucked.. wish I didn’t purchase the entire album and only got the four songs I liked.
Disappointing… let’s see
Prodigy – the day is my enemy
Disclosure – Caracal
less disappointing but still not that great
Chemical brothers – born in the echoes
Shlohmo – dark red
Fat freddy’s drop – bays
Mine was Oceano’s Ascedants. I love oceano but good lord that album seems like one really long song chopped into bits. Great breakdowns and stuff but overall; repetitive.
The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness (the Ed Sheeran collab?! Shonker…)
Fetty Wap – don’t know what I was expecting, but off the back of some of the strogest hooks/singles of the year, the album is pretty subpar.
The new Beirut and Decemberists albums also are super forgettable unfortunately, along with the new FKA twigs EP which is most noteworthy thanks to her video, not the music itself.
Agree with you RE: Julia Holter, don’t know what it is, but I feel like I’m missing out on something there by not liking it. However, new CHVRCHES would be on my underrated list, wouldn’t mind a change in direction for their next album though…
Grimes art angels by a long shot
Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon
Palma Violets – Danger In the Club
The Vaccines – English Graffiti