Year End 2018: Top 5 Disappointing Albums

Another year gone, another group of underwhelming albums made by good artists. I'm not going to make a worst albums of the year list, because I don't actively seek out the worst of the worst. Instead, I'm looking at projects that I went into hoping good things, but came out disappointed.


5. Kanye West- ye
I don't even think this is that bad of an album from a production standpoint, but I really don't think Kanye had a lot to say. Apart from the beginning of 'I Thought About Killing You' and 'Ghost Town', a lot of the lyrical content was more of the same, which is a shame, really. And no, I'm not disliking this album because of Kanye's political opinions that were published in 2018. Unlike most people, I can separate the art from the artist (I love Kids See Ghosts). I just feel like Kanye could have done so much more with this album, and delve deeper into his struggle with mental illness and his family drama, but all references to this were surface level or filtered through so much ego that they were ineffectual.


4. Arctic Monkeys- Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
I don't normally dislike when a band evolves their sound and changes their approach, but this might take some getting used to. I wasn't the biggest fan of A.M. either, since I thought the band were trying to broaden their pop appeal, but the lounge act costume that they donned for this album doesn't fit quite right. I get some hints of Last Shadow Puppets (Alex Turner's other project) on this record as well, and I don't like that it's bleeding into Arctic Monkeys. I like when the band gets weird (I enjoyed Humbug and Suck it and See, both pretty divisive albums), but I think it was the lack of energy and drive that hurt this for me. Matt Helders should be free to let loose, not just keep time in the background of a Manilow set at the Four Seasons.


3. Nas- Nasir
When I heard the production that Kanye had whipped up for Pusha-T's Daytona as well as his own project, I was excited for the new Nas record. A lot of complaints about Nas' career was that he never had good production. So when he gets it, you'd think it'd be great. But, unfortunately, Nas didn't really show up ready to play, barely dropping any quotables (other than cringy anti-vaxxer bars) and spewing lame conspiracy theories over the best production he probably ever had. The beat for 'Cops' was great, and totally wasted on Nas. The fact the Pusha-T actually wanted the beat and was jealous that Nas was given it just makes me wish for King Push to jack the beat and rap over it himself. At least he'd do it justice.


2. Deafheaven- Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
I, unlike many, enjoyed the more aggressive direction Deafheaven took with New Bermuda, their previous record. Unfortunately, the band decided to fold to public opinion and put out a metal record so weak, the only metal it could possibly be is tin foil. When you kick an album off with 'You Without End', a 7 and a half minute piece of sonic wallpaper, you're hardly getting me interested in your metal band. All the post rock interludes and distractions got a little tiresome, and the actual metal was very scarce. This alleged black metal band managed to make Alcest, a now almost full on shoegaze band, sound like Archgoat in comparison.

1. The Smashing Pumpkins- Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

This one hurts a bit. The Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favorite bands of the '90s, if not all time, and the fact that they're making music this bland is a tough pill to swallow. I enjoyed a fair deal of their stuff after the 2007 reunion, up until about Oceania. I thought Monuments to an Elegy was a little wanting in the writing department, but at least that had some hard rock grit to it. This record just seems so low effort for a perfectionist like Billy Corgan, and the fact that this is now with a (mostly) reunited Pumpkins makes me wonder if they've lost the magic. For the next volume, just give it some more time. No need to rush. A band doesn't need to put out an album. You set the bar high early in your career, but if you give it time and wrack your brain for some new inspiration, maybe you can capture that magic again.


So, that's my list of disappointing albums for 2018. What are some albums that didn't deliver for you this year? I'll be back for a new portion of my year end lists: the top 5 music related books I happened to read this year.


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