The Let Downs:
1. The Strokes- Angles
The Strokes are responsible for one of the most iconic albums of the 2000’s with their debut Is This It? Not to mention their follow-up LP’s Room On Fire and First Impressions of Earth had a handful of gems on them, regardless of their failure to live up to their predecessor. So when it was announced that the band was back together after hiatus I expected great things, and following the release of the single “Under Cover of Darkness” I thought perhaps the band could make another iconic LP. Alas...this album is so flat and void of emotion aside from “Under Cover” and the cool guitar line in the track “Metabolism”. It’s clear the band doesn’t get along, considering singer Julian Casablancas e-mailed in his vocals and feedback on the music, and guitarist Albert Hammond Junior spent much of the recording process battling drug addiction. The point in which this album, and to a certain degree the band as a whole, looked bleak was when Casablancas said in an interview that he was proud of “About 60% of the album.” Next time I release an album to the masses, I’m going to make sure to tell them it’s only a little more than half good.
2. Tyler, The Creator- Goblin
In the first quarter of 2011, Tyler, The Creator and his cronies in the Odd Future movement had the world in their hands. After a shockingly bizarre performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and the viral success of the music video for the song “Yonkers,” it seemed as though there was no way Goblin wouldn’t live up to the hype. When the LP dropped, the hardcore OFWGKTA fans ate it up and praised it, however, I can’t stand it. There are some great tracks, some good ones and then the rest of this album is god-awful. There are songs on this album that I would go as far as to say are among the worst songs I’ve ever heard in my life. With so many well-received mixtapes and digital albums under his belt, I assumed Tyler would know how to please a mainstream audience. But unfortunately Tyler was perhaps a bit too cocky with his song choices, and the end result is upsettingly bad. I pray that he can regroup and make his next LP, Wolf, a cleaner and more well thought out effort.
3. Lupe Fiasco- Lasers
Five years into the hip-hop game, Lupe Fiasco seemingly had the world in his palm. He’d achieved both critical and relatively commercial success with his first two LP’s Food and Liquor and The Cool. And the longer he awaited after the latter of those two albums, the more unintentional hype he put behind the LP that we came to know as Lasers. And when it dropped the negative reviews came from all corners, and I didn’t want to believe them. But then I listened to this album. It’s infused with poppy, electronic beats, and the lyrics are not nearly as potent as they once were. Lupe Fiasco could have cemented himself as a mainstay in the genre, but all of the things I’ve just mentioned, as well as lazy guest spots did a lot of damage to Lupe’s image. This album really is a fiasco.
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers- I’m With You
After longtime guitarist John Frusciante quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009 and was quickly replaced with touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, there was a bit of unease from hardcore fans. Could the band continue to play funky jams and entertain fans without the signature sound of Frusciante (not to mention his vocal harmonies)? And the answer was yes. Klinghoffer fit in very well. The problem was, the entire band decided to record and release a more or less lazy LP on every front. Where once Flea slapped and popped strings left and right, here he plucks his way through riffs, like the single “The Adventures of Raindance Maggie”, and where once lead singer Anthony Kiedis crafted quirky and fun lyrics, now he seems like an awkward older guy trying to grab onto the youth inside of him with lines like “Hustle me bitch and you best beware!” And you can’t say Klinghoffer takes away, it’s almost as if he’s not even there! The guitar is almost a secondary instrument on this album. And perhaps the biggest let down of this LP is that there are moments of sheer greatness, tracks like “Monarchy of Roses” and “Look Around” are amazing, and different than the “Can’t Stop” and “Give It Away” style that RHCP have sort of gotten stuck in. But the goods are too little and the mediocres are far too many. Is there any ounce of decency left in the Chili Peppers? Yes, they just seem to brush over it. I pray they can regroup and forge onward instead of holding their current ground, as the new stylings they played with on I’m With You could flourish if given more time to develop.
5. Childish Gambino- CAMP
Troy from NBC’s Community, a.k.a founding member of the Youtube comedy group Derrick Comedy a.k.a Donald Glover a.k. Childish Gambino finally released his first studio LP following a string of free tapes and the aplty titled EP earlier in 2011. And to put it bluntly Gambino can’t be taken seriously. While he is a fiery lyricist, and delivers some downright amazing punchlines, the overall themes of songs are diminished, as they almost contradict each other from track to track. Glover keeps saying he’s pining after one girl, and then has a track about how his fake girlfriend has a key to his house and he doesn’t want his real girlfriend, and how his girl is a Maxim model. Then he says he wants to be relatable to the black community as an alternative to what you hear on the radio, then he makes a brag track in the same vein as Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne or a more commercial Tyler, The Creator. And how can he seem relatable when he keeps saying he great he is? I really enjoyed this album after the first few listens, but the more it sunk in, the more I just got frustrated with how lazy and inconsistent this is. I had very high hopes for this LP and while it does offer some cool beats and good punchlines, its lack of any real focus really brings it down.
The Honorable Mentions:
(note: the term ‘honorable mention’ does not mean that these next LP’s deserve the 21-25 slot on my list, it means they stood out in one way or another. Quality is not always what makes the effort honorable.)
1. Bad Meets Evil- Hell: The Sequel
In a further step to return to the notoriety he had in the early to mid 2000’s, Eminem reunited with former ally Royce Da 5’9” to deliver Hell: The Sequel, a 9 track EP that’s just as vulgar, violent and vicious as the filthiest tracks in Em’s discography. And Royce is no chump on the mic, as fans of his solo work know. It’s an impressive EP lyrically, and reminds us that even though Em has found commercial success with songs about overcoming obstacles like “Not Afraid” he can still chew you up if he wants to. What brings this EP down is the need for hooks. Tracks like “Lighters” and “Above the Law”, while potent in their lyrical content, feature gag worthy hooks that belong on someone else’s songs. So yeah, cheers to Em and Royce for spitting fire, even after being in the game for so long, but us real hip-hop fans don’t need Bruno Mars singing hooks. Hopefully following the success both critically and commercially of this and Em’s last LP Recovery, we can see the man truly regain his place as one of hip-hops greatest lyricist.
2. Drake- Take Care
With his first album, the ambitiously titled Thank Me Later, Drake did nothing more than brag about how great he was, regardless of how little time he’d spent in the spotlight. And that left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth. So when Take Care started getting raving reviews I was skeptical about whether or not it was worth my time to listen to it. But I succumbed to the peer pressure and finally gave this album a few spins, and while I’m not a huge fan of it as a whole, there’s a whole lot of audacity going into this release. Drake opens up his soul and pours it all over the duration of this, and for the first time in history, I’ve felt a connection to him. He talks about how fame can’t buy him money, regardless of how much fun he appears to be having. And he has the balls to sing a good majority of this album. So to me Drake could’ve coasted along with another LP full of brag tracks where he sings hooks and then raps verses, but on Take Care he really explores a lot of things musically. So I do give credit where credit is due.
3. Mac Miller- Blue Slide Park
I’d first heard Mac Miller on Chris Webby’s track “I Need A Dollar” wherein Miller killed Webby in a verse that seemed to take little to no effort from Miller. So after hearing his K.I.D.S mixtape and getting really excited from that, I was ready to enjoy Blue Slide Park. And I did. It’s a solid output. It’s not great. But there are a few things that I really admire. Number one is the fact that it sold 145,000 copies in its first week. Now Miller is not a mainstay on hip-hop radio, nor is signed to a massive record label. He’s toured extensively and built a following off of social networking and releasing mixtapes. So, it’s good to see his hard work pay off. And what else makes this album so notable? The fact that regardless of his affiliations with Wiz Khalifa, Maroon 5 and several other mainstream music figures, Miller doesn’t have a single guest appearance on this album. In an age where most hip-hop albums don’t go more than two tracks without guests, this kid from Pittsburg put out an album with ZERO guests and sold 145,000 copies in a week. That my friends, is incredibly honorable.
4. Wale- Ambition
I’ve been an on and off fan of Wale for some time. I enjoyed his tape The Mixtape About Nothing, hated his debut LP Attention Deficit, and then loved his mixtape More About Nothing. So when Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group signed him to a deal, I was both excited and scared. Could Wale deliver an LP on a major label that delivered the lyrical poignancy that he became known for on his mixtapes? And he did! Ambition is exactly what its title implies, and Wale can finally be proud of both commercial and critical success. This isn’t the best hip-hop album of the year by a long shot, but the fact that Wale transcended a record label watering down what makes him who he is and delivered a solid LP proves that the music industry is not run by corporations, but by individuals and groups of people with drive. I think with some fine tuning, Wale can follow up Ambition with something equally hungry, just a bit more fine tuned.
5. Primus- Green Naugahyde/Yellowcard- When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes/Bela Fleck and the Flecktones- Rocket Science
Why have I lumped a funk metal band, a pop punk band and a bluegrass band in one category? Allow me to explain. All three of the groups I’ve placed here are among my favorites. Primus is without question my favorite band of all time, Yellowcard was my guilty pleasure all throughout high school and college, and The Flecktones were a group that really challenged me musically, and continue to do so. Essentially, all three of these groups are in my ‘top tier’ of bands. And all three released good LP’s in 2011. However, all three groups produced albums of tunes that sort of fit in with their prior releases without really doing much to grow artistically. I’ve listened to all three of these albums extensively and really enjoy them, I just can’t call these among the best of the year because the bands are musically treading water. So good tunes yes, but charging forward musically instead of standing still would’ve pushed them from the honorable mentions onto my favorites. No big deal!
Alright folks! Numbers 20-11 will be up soon, with numbers 10-1 up shortly thereafter! Hope you're enjoying 2012! The world will end this year!
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