I know i’m in the minority with this, but I just found the latest Lucy Dacus album really boring. Loved the first single, but the rest just doesn’t register with me at all. It’s a real shame as I loved her last one, and everyone is fawning over this one. I feel like I’m missing something. A soul maybe?
Anyway… thhhbbbpppp 
Exploded View - Obey
Loved their debut but this was devoid of that album’s energy and lacked it’s melodic charm. Shame asthey seemed really promising, hopefully they can still get it together.
whispers
Grouper
My expectations were very high for Preoccupations and initially I was a bit underwhelmed but I’m won round to it now. A strong LP just not the level of the prior material
Seconding the Okkervil River comments. One standout track but overall average at best and I love the band.
J Mascis’ latest got very warm reviews and its decent but nothing really seemed to stick and I prefer his prior solo releases - still a7/10 - but the others are solid 8s.
Mothers had my number 2 LP of 2016 - this LP has some fine moments and is good but misses out on my top 40.
Damien Jurado had my number 1 LP of a few years back off a stellar run of form but the new one left me a little cold. Not bad. Just a bit of a dip from an artist I love.
In all these cases (unjustifiably?) high expecations seem to be the main cause of disappointment
thought it was decent enough, but yeah not as strong as the debut. they lost a member which might have impacted them a bit.
Pulled up the Ribbon is a banger and i enjoyed seeing them on the tour, think the album has potential, some nice melodies and stuff but the 80s production style lets it down.
Decemberists ‘win’ it for me, edging out Timmy H, Deafy H, and Johnny H who all let me down in different ways.
Completely forget that Preoccupations even released an album this year, and I loved their last two.
Dirty Computer was also hugely disappointing to me, especially since the first two singles were so good.
I’ll defend Courtney Barnett though, I think it’s her most consistent work
His consistency since the demise of the wondrous White Stripes is mind-blowing, as all of his solo albums have been equally shit.
Not sure I’ve even given the latest Joyce Manor a full run through. Which is saying something bearing in mind how short their albums are.
That album art makes me laugh every time, WHAT WAS HE THINKING?
I went into the year thinking that Titus Andronicus and Nothing would be fighting each other for album of the year…
Titus Andronicus was a major miss for me, and while the Nothing album had some good moments (Zero Day, I Hate the Flowers, and (HOPE) Is Just Another Word with a Hole In It), it was overall pretty lackluster and if anything felt like a sizable step back from their prior two. The Creep rewrite was baffling.
Oh, and I was so excited when Swearin’ announced they were getting back together. The debut is an all-time classic for me and the follow-up was great too, but the new one didn’t do it for me. It was missing everything that made the first one special, and it didn’t feel like a case where they evolved into something else that could still be appreciated even if it’s not what got you into them.
I don’t dislike the album, but it’s definitely hit or miss. Some of Kyle’s vocal melodies really bear no relation to the music he’s singing over. Can’t remember the title, but he sounds completely tone deaf on one track.
I quite like this album- provided that I don’t listen to that one featuring Brian Cox. Absolutely dreadful tune.
Agree on both accounts. It was a shame about Orbital as PHUK is my favourite single of theirs since The Box.
Melody’s Echo Chamber. Love the debut but this was just one of those albums where it was a real struggle to listen all the way through.
I really don’t like the new one, and the debut was way up on my list in 2016. Rubbish
That’s exactly how I feel about the new Swearin. Kyle sounds like he really can’t be arsed at times. Which is a shame because Allison has some great songs on there - particularly love Grow into a ghost and Margaret back to back.
This is the first I’ve heard of it being written that way and that definitely explains a lot. Odd though, feel like they’re on tour all the time, how hard is it to be in the same room for a writing session.
They should try not to rush in to the next one. No need to knock out an album every 18 months.