Chvrches- It’s a solid album but not a patch on the previous two efforts.
Franz Ferdinand-Great singles, awful album.
Julia Holter-This one may change with time, but currently there’s a hell of a lot to take in. Just not feeling it right now.
Thoughts?
Sex and Food. Singles were good and then the album came out and oh dear.
Yeah. I loved the last Julia Holger album but this one hasn’t clicked at all. I’ve tickets for her gig next week and so will give it another spin.
Agree on Julia Holter, the last album is one of my favorites of the decade but I just haven’t found a way in with this.
The Courtney Barnett album is quite average imo.
camp cope - how to socialise & make friends - loved their first album, really wanted to love this one too but was massively underwhelmed. it’s not bad by any means, just not what I had hyped myself up into expecting. the opener is great though
Deafheaven. The big tracks work well live but the rest is weak.
Most recent Decemberists was pretty weak. Lots of chat about a bold new direction but it was neither here nor there, save for three or four okay songs
I’m usually a huge fan but the new Okkervil River didn’t do much for me. Titus Andronicus new record was also fairly hit and miss…
That Belle & Sebastian album, or collection of EPs, or whatever the hell it is, is absolute pony. I’ve had time for pretty much everything theyve put out up to this point, but that record is utter shit, only one good song out of 15 by my count.
Also, Courtney Barnett was a massive disappointment, mystified to see it so highly rated, makes me think im missing something…
Oh heck, yes. I didn’t buy it but I got about five tracks through on Spotify. Some of it is unlistenable (and they’ve been responsible for some absolute stinkers over the years)
Well, it’s a funny year when both Yo La Tengo and Tim Hecker release records and they struggle to make my top ten.
I do really like Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, but it probably wouldn’t make my top 5 of the year, and I’m a HUGE Monae fan. So has to go down as a disappointment.
The Max Cooper album turned out to be just ok.
I think I might being a lot nicer to that Orbital album than it deserves.
reckon the first half of it is some of her strongest working tbf. second half isn’t quite as strong.
Manic’s ‘Resistance Is Futile’.
I know they don’t have two great albums in a row in them anymore (and bar the 1-2 of ‘THB’ and ‘EMG’ they never really have) but given how much i love ‘Futurology’ i was very disappointed that their form plummeted like that. I actually think it might be their weakest album.
All of them.
Mitski. Boring, underwritten tunes
*work, ffs
Titus Andronicus - a real mess. Would actually have been interested to hear a well-realised ‘acoustic’ album from him but he just sounds exhausted and burned out here. That’s fair enough, everyone’s allowed a miss or two, but here’s hoping he can re-stoke the fire.
Preoccupations - apparently their first written over the internet, pieced together from them sending bits and bobs to each other. I didn’t hate it but it has nothing like the cohesion, power and menace of their other albums, which feel like their own secret weird noir worlds. This is just some indie pop by comparison.
Oh, and Interpol. Wasn’t expecting the world but I thought El Pintor was a decent album. This doesn’t touch it for me.
Yeah. It’s dull.
At her Shepherds Bush Empire gig she did some pointless dancing and hand gestures too. Not that great overall.