Top 10 Disappointments of 2007

This year’s best of compilation could be called nothing in my mind but The Underdog. It’s hard to precisely place all of the albums that (dis)pleased me this year, but I am sure that this year gained a hell of a lot of momentum towards it’s close. 2007, I underestimated you and I’m sorry. But you did drop your share of duds before any gold was uncovered. So let’s agree that we both made mistakes. Also, let’s agree to only talk about yours.

Top 10 Disappointments of 2007

Okay, now when I’m talking about disappointment, you have to realize it’s a bit complicated. Every album has it’s own set of expectations going in, and it’s on those that any feelings of disappointment are based. Just because an album was one of my biggest disappointments this year, doesn’t mean it wasn’t also one of my favorites. It is not a list of the worst albums of 2007, in actuality it is 10 of my favorite bands (for the most part). But come on guys, you could have done better.

10. Caribou's Andorra
I guess I’m not sure how I feel about Caribou. I was never really a fan of Manitoba, but The Milk of Human Kindness was so good. I suppose it seemed as though he agreed with the way I felt about Manitoba and decided to make more interesting music. But just when I thought our tastes were growing more comparable, he goes and makes an album that sounds like the decidedly worse half of MoHK. Fine, Caribou. Fine. But yeah, She’s the One is good stuff.
9. Kings of Leon's Because of the Times
I guess I didn’t realize it until this year, but these guys have been on a steady downhill since Youth and Young Manhood. I was a big fan of Aha Shake Heartbreak, but not big enough to investigate their past albums. In general, I tend to care about what recently came out and what is on the way, so for me to backtrack in a band’s catalog, well that’s big. When I heard Because of the Times, I decided I needed to know why they made this album, so I took a look at their first effort. Let me tell you something, that was it. That was the sound. For some reason they’ve gotten spacier and weirder every album. I really enjoyed Caleb’s warble over the rock tracks, but now it’s just a weird voice over weird music. Sorry guys, not interested.
8. Les Savy Fav's Let's Stay Friends
Sigh. I don’t know. I was just expecting really great things. It’s been since 2001. That’s how long I’ve been waiting for some new Les Savy Fav. And no, I’m not counting Inches. Go Forth was such a monster achievement, but my god, what a misnomer! I wish they had gone forth, but no, they made me wait. And yes, I like the first half of this album a great deal, but it’s been too damn long for half good. I need more. But Let’s Stay Friends.
7. Bright Eyes' Cassadaga
Well Bright Eyes has never really been a favorite of mine, but I gotta say all the same that this album was just a big disappointment. The orchestration and the big sound just doesn’t do it for me. Not with Connor’s voice. It’s not big enough. He’s not grandiose for such flattering accompaniment. He should stick to lo-fi and his emo twang. Four Winds is good stuff though.
6. Arctic Monkeys' Favourite Worst Nightmare
Well if anybody had any faith in the absurd rumoring that these guys were gonna be bigger than The Beatles, surely they now see how misguided they were. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was certainly a mouthful of goodness. And I certainly did want to see what was next. This seems like a Ryan Adams* album, except that they had two years to work on it. There’s very little innovation. This album is basically a B-Side to their first. Shame.
5. The Shin's Wincing the Night Away
Yes, I did like this album. It still has so much of the charm that the first two had, though without that comfy basement-y quality. They did break some new ground on tracks like Sleeping Lessons which is my far and away favorite, and Sea Legs which is…also swell. And there is rehashed glory on tracks like Phantom Limb and Girl Sailor. But still, like Les Savy Fav, it’s been too long. I needed something to blow me away after four years. If they had released this album back in aught-four I would have been goodly satisfied. But they didn’t. So I’m not.
4. The Brunettes' Structure and Cosmetics
Man, oh man, when I heard that first track, I was thrilled. And it really seemed like they were gonna cash in on their new Sub Pop money, but it’s almost like they reverted. I can understand if it was a bigger/more corporate label then they might have to sort of uniform their sound and sacrifice some of their more darling attributes. There’s something very Elvis Costello about Mars Loves Venus, but less masturbation, more unabashed resplendence. I have much the same problem with this as I did with Favourite Worst Nightmare.
3. Wilco's Sky Blue Sky
Just scroll down a little if you wanna see how I really feel about this album.
2. Voxtrot's Self Titled
Oh, Voxtrot. What have you done. I’ve taken every track they’ve released that I could get my digital hands on and made a compilation. It is ri-diculous how vast the gap is between that comp and this album. There is a very uniform sound and concept holding the album together, but it’s not nearly as nice as the breezy pre-tracks. It’s really sad when so much of the lightheartedness of a group is gone before the first long player drops. It’s like The Arcade Fire all over again. But their jaded forlornitude is way better.
1. Bloc Party's A Weekend in the City
I heard the first single (Disappear Here) in 2006 and really had to fight myself to leave it off that best of, but the irony here is that A Weekend in the Shitty didn’t even make the cut this year. I nearly put Hunting For Witches on, but sadly the cutting room floor was its fate. Yeah, the first two tracks are great. Really great, even. There may have been a couple other good things, but it was hard to see through the so what. I loved the expansion of their sound on the opener, but they couldn’t keep up the pace. Too bad, they could have done something truly remarkable.

And there you have it. Still more to come.


*Ryan Adams releases albums far too quickly and would benefit from additional planning time.