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User
Reviews 26
Approval 99%
Soundoffs 237
News Articles 5
Band Edits + Tags 10
Album Edits 153
Album Ratings 2351
Objectivity 71%
Last Active 12-19-18 7:20 pm
Joined 06-11-12
Review Comments 2,739
| Disappointments from 2020
disgusting | | 1 |  | Green Day
Father of All Motherfuckers
Could’ve benefited from a swedish songwriter or two. Take The Money and Crawl is as good as this thing gets. Everything else is neutered pop-punk that borderline sounds like it belongs in a car commercial.
1.5/10 | | 2 |  | Poppy
Music to Scream To
Bad in a quirky way. This is clearly a Poppy self production, and the effort put into it seems to amount to twiddling knobs at random and making her cat meow into a microphone. Her goth-rap-noise boyfriend probably had a hand in walking her through FL studio to make this, which makes me giggle.
2/10 | | 3 |  | Neon Trees
I Can Feel You Forgetting Me
I can feel myself forgetting this band. It sucks too because I really liked the kitsch new wave that Pop Psychology brought to the table! This just feels like that but not memorable in any way whatsoever. It did have two decent radio-ready singles in Used To Like and New Best Friend, but other than those two everything feels insipid and shallow, with very little standing out instrumentally or lyrically.
3/10 | | 4 |  | Beach Slang
The Deadbeat Bang Of Heartbreak City
How many fucking times can you sing the same song? Tommy in the 80’s is an imitation of ‘Alex Chilton’ by The Replacements, which you can’t really make sound bad so that’s the standout track here. Beach Slang still manage to fit the niche of depressed 40-something alcoholics, but they’ve filled the damn thing and it’s spilling everywhere and it’s just annoying and a mess and I need to clean it up. Go to therapy damnit
5/10 | | 5 |  | Myles Oliver
Find Me Tomorrow
I’m pretty sure this is someone on this sites project so sorry for putting it here but I marked it early on as disappointing so it’s here. I just don’t like the production too much, it feels *too* full and idk like maximalist??? There’s definitely some good ideas and stuff here with some polishing. Hidden Future Memory is really good.
5/10 | | 6 |  | Lady Gaga
Chromatica
My issue with Chromatica is that it passes by in an instant. It’s the same rhythm with the same sounds, the same tones across the entire album which runs for a bit too long for what it’s trying to do. There’s very little in the way of standout tracks, and while I will applaud Gaga on her aesthetic / overall ‘era’, the album itself is just meh. 911 is a sleeper hit. Sine From Above is maximum camp thanks to Sir Elton John and that absolutely ridiculous drum ‘n’ bass outro.
5/10 | | 7 |  | La Roux
Supervision
Girl needed some Supervision making this shit. Previous album Trouble In Paradise had these moments where everything flourished and sounded full and lush - it was great! Unfortunately for some reason she split from her bandmate who was basically the entire instrumental suite. There are a lot of good ideas here, but they’re stuck in between songs that go on for way too long or hiding in the middle or the end of tracks. Gullible Fool is a good outro. Automatic Driver is fine too, and is basically the album in a nutshell.
5/10 | | 8 |  | Rina Sawayama
Sawayama
1/2
I think RINA set my expectations too high. The EP released earlier was a concise package that was front to back, top quality thanks to Clarence Clarity having full contrul as producer. On Sawayama, things just don’t go over so smoothly. I think what she’s doing deserves acknowledgement and certainly applause - she’s pretty successfully imitating a lot of different styles of pop music while putting a spin on it. Parodying the pop-star while criticizing consumerism on ‘XS’, putting on an amazing villain laugh and shutting down annoying dates on the bubblegum metal during STFU!, and going full house on Comme des Garcons. Rina does great vocally with these sounds and in some ways does make them her own. But I just can’t help but think that I’d rather listen to a house album (shit - Chromatica) or a Sleigh Bells song than have ‘STFU!’ play sandwiched between two traditionally ‘pop’ sounding songs. | | 9 | | Rina Sawayama
Sawayama
2/2
In addition, lyrically this album doesn’t hold a candle to the EP. Though a lot of the songs sound fine, lyrically they feel awkward or stilted.
While it’s disappointing when comparing it to RINA, there are still some good tracks here. Love Me 4 Me sounds like a new-jack track on steroids, complete with a killer guitar solo. Bad Friend is actually my favorite cut. Probably the best lyrically, with an amazing hook that sounds better every time it plays. ‘Who’s Gonna Save U Now’ is the superior twin of STFU!, with front to back, high energy stadium rock vibes.
So yeah, I’m being hard on Rina because I got a taste of nirvana with her EP and didn’t get it with this. Regardless, she deserves your time and attention, and I truly hope her career goes well.
6/10 | |
gryndstone
11.26.20 | what did you HATE from this year sputnik | WretchedCacophony
11.26.20 | Pretty saddened and dismayed by Kobe's death. That was pretty crazy.
Really hating the covid pandemic. Weird how you didn't mention that.
Also hated the rioting and looting that happened in a lot of cities. What fools | gryndstone
11.26.20 | Yeah covid isn't too good at all | gryndstone
11.26.20 | personally thought the rioting was fun they broke into my job while it was closed and tried to steal a bunch of playstations but literally dropped them all in the parking lot | JoyfulPlatypus
11.26.20 | Awhhh but Sawayama was so good. In all fairness though I haven’t heard her first EP. | Gnocchi
11.26.20 | @Johnny | JohnnyoftheWell
11.26.20 | Sawayama > Rina ez, but your take makes a lotta sense and your highlight picks are mostly underloved so good good | Colton
11.26.20 | I have yet to hear an album in my life worse than 1 | JohnnyoftheWell
11.26.20 | try 2 | gryndstone
11.26.20 | 2 doesn't have the words 'you can take a walk or you can suck my cock' delivered earnestly | bloodshy
11.26.20 | i refuse to consider that poppy album as an album, so i won't have to tarnish the great name of poppy | widowslaugh123
11.26.20 | You know I’m not claiming anything I’m just saying there wasn’t a pandemic when Kobe Bryant was alive and then as soon as he dies... | AnimalsAsSummit
11.26.20 | Find Me Tomorrow is a personal album, experimental production, and a lot of people don’t like that production style, so I don’t take offense. It’s just what I wanted to hear at the time. I’m glad you at least listened! :) | gryndstone
11.26.20 | Yeah, now I feel like an ass. There's good stuff there man, you know it | dbizzles
11.26.20 | New Undeath sucked and idc what anyone else has to say about it. Bad production, immemorable songs, terrible track with tbdm vocalist.
Also new Deftones has only like 3 good songs, and that's upsetting. Gore had more, you just couldn't hear them. | AnimalsAsSummit
11.26.20 | Don’t feel like an ass, I find every reaction to my music very humbling and always interesting. Never did make it to please. Just wanted to give a little insight into my thinking when making this; was listening to a lot of noise and stuff with very little bass. Hence the big treble and very rigid keyboards and whatnot. | AnimalsAsSummit
11.26.20 | One thing I will say is I find that new Poppy album fascinating but very obtuse. Probably the first thing she’s made that has piqued my interest. | Squiggly
11.26.20 | Sounds intriguing, Animals. What does your music sound like? | encomium
11.26.20 | this list sucks | Deez
11.26.20 | I expected all of these to be shit | Lord(e)Po)))ts
11.26.20 | "Disappointments from 2020"
The whole damn year, son | JohnnyoftheWell
11.26.20 | don't u do myss k dirty like that
| gryndstone
11.26.20 | sorry i didn't subject myself to a bunch of 1/10 albums |
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