Year End 2019: Top 5 Disappointing Albums

Welcome to the second part of my 2019 year end lists. Here I'll be discussing the 5 albums of the year that were the most disappointing to me. Please note: these aren't the worst albums of the year, just those that didn't live up to the hype or my expectations. I don't actively seek out the worst of the worst. At least one of these records can be considered good.


Chance the Rapper: The Big Day
What happened? After both Acid Rap and Coloring Book were great tapes, I expected Chance's highly anticipated debut to be amazing, but alas, it was not to be. This waaay too long record was bogged down by bad lines, a corny tone, and, as I'm sure you've all been made aware, an incredible emphasis on Chance's love for his new wife. While loving your wife is definitely a good thing, and I'm happy Chance is happy, it's not a particularly interesting thing to hear about for 90 minutes, and the super happy, corny package the message was delivered in made the record that much more annoying to get through. Hopefully, Chance learns from the negative reception this album got and gets back on track.


Flying Lotus: Flamagra
This is probably the one album that I'm a little apprehensive about putting on here because it's honestly not even a bad record, but it just didn't live up to the expectations I had following up a record like You're Dead! The large amount of vignettes approach to the structure of the album didn't really add up to a cohesive whole for me, and I feel like there were a lot of ideas and experiments that were not realized to their full potential here. I feel like if Flying Lotus cut the number of tracks and expanded on the tracks he kept and saw the ideas to completion, the experience would have been much more fulfilling as a result.



Sleater Kinney: The Center Won't Hold
There were two things before this record even came out that made me a little nervous. The facts that St. Vincent (who has been on this list in the past) was announced as the producer to this record, and the departure of long time drummer Janet Weiss over the artistic direction the band was taking got me real nervous, and when the product was delivered, I could see why she left. This just doesn't seem like the same band to me. I feel like a lot of the edges were sanded off and they were going a lot more for an indie pop/ vaguely alt rock sound. Sleater Kinney used to be ferocious and passionate, and I just didn't hear that. Following this record, and what Janet has said following her departure (more of a forced exit from her POV), I'm honestly a little disillusioned with Carrie and Corin right now. This one hurt, not going to lie.


Tool: Fear Inoculum
After 13 years, I feel like it's okay to expect a grand return, maybe even a slight change in sound. When mbv came out after 22 years following Loveless, My Bloody Valentine didn't just feed you more of the same. They expanded upon their sound while remaining unmistakably My Bloody Valentine. Tool, meanwhile, just delivered a more plodding, meandering 10,000 Days. There was nothing adventurous about this album, and I think the response from the fanbase and general music listening public was more frustrating than the album itself. They were acting like this album was just sooo deep and so complex, like if I didn't like it, I didn't get it. Wow, you guys played in 7, cool. Hardly Don Caballero levels of mathematics there. In addition, playing in time signatures other than 4/4 does not let you off the hook when it comes to writing, you know, like an actual song once and a while?



Kanye West: Jesus is King
I actually had pretty high hopes for this album. Yes, The Life of Pablo was not very good to me, and ye was a little underwhelming, but I thought Kids See Ghosts was great, and unlike many others, the fact that this is a Christian record didn't really phase me (Bob Dylan's born again phase had some slaps, see 'Serve Somebody', and Bob Marley's entire oeuvre was essentially Rastafarian gospel). What irks me is how disingenuous the whole thing is, and cringey to boot. Kanye has no humility, and even in a record specifically made to spread a Chrisitian message, he can't put his ego aside long enough. He can't let Jesus be the only messiah in the room, and the Zane Lowe interview preceding this album reinforces this notion. Plus, the album is underproduced, underwritten, and not up to snuff on any level. As for the new record that came out last week, Jesus is Born, I'm sure someone has made this joke on the internet already, but if they haven't here's my take: Jesus is Stillborn. Try harder Kanye. Just because Christian music has a built in fanbase doesn't mean you no longer have to try. Also, try having some humility. It'll make you a better artist, person, and from what I've gathered, a better Christian. Pride is a deadly sin, after all.

So, that concluded my list of disappointing records. Feel free to shre some records that disappointed you this year, or to try to change my mind on these (you might be able to on Flamagra, but probably not the others). Check in later for some more year end lists, even though 2020 is here. Sorry, I'm perpetually behind.


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