2007.5 : Your best surprise, Your worst disappointment

[Lancemc]

So the year is about half over now, and a fair number of our anticipated releases have come out. Some greats we never expected, and probably some that let us down. Which were they for you?



Best surprise:

Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

I knew nothing about James Murphy before my friend told me to listen to Sound of Silver earlier this year. After the first track I was hooked. The opening of Someone Great told me this was "one of these records". And once I neared the 2-minute mark of "All My Friends" I knew I was listening to my favorite album of the year.

Honorable Mention: The Reminder - Feist

Again, my first foray into Feist's catalogue. Needless to say, it shall not be my last.

Worst Disappointment:

Cassadega - Bright Eyes

Don't get me wrong. I really like Cassadega. It was one of my most anticipated albums of the year, and after the fantastic Four Winds EP, I had a good feelings this album would be his best yet. Well, it's not. Meh. But this being my worst disappointment really stands as a testement to the strength of the releases this year.

 

[LMP]

Sound of Silver is probably my biggest surprise, along with The Shins' Wincing the Night Away and The Good, the Bad, & the Queen's eponymous debut. I should know better than to doubt Damon Albarn.

As for disappointment, I'd have to say the Modest Mouse album. Sure, it has a few tracks I love (Florida, Parting of the Sensory, Dashboard) but the rest is floating meh, kind of like what Lance said about Cassadaga.

About Cassadaga, I really loved it after I saw the songs performed live.

Soul Singer in a Session Band
Hot Knives
Make a Plan to Love Me
Four Winds
and No One Would Riot for Less are among some of Conor's best songs

 

[bono_man2002]

Feist - The Reminder

Nothing has been all that disappointing this year so far....Icky Thump is awesome, Neon Bible the same.....we'll see if anything pops up later in the year....

 

[Axver]

Biggest surprise:

Blackfield: Blackfield II. I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be so good that I'd just never bother listening to Blackfield I due to II's vast superiority. Once, Miss U, and Epidemic are incredible.

Honourable mention to Neal Morse's Sola Scripture. I never realised the only decent Christian prog artist actually had a metal side!

Biggest disappointment:

Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos. It sounds like Dream Theater doing a bad rip-off of all the Dream Theater prog clones that badly rip off Dream Theater. Also, guys, the whole "we can rock and be metal and prog, listen to how heavy and intricately complex we are!" schtick would go over a little better if your keyboardist didn't look like he were about sixty and if your vocalist didn't look like a bikie gang wannabe. It doesn't help that Ministry Of Lost Souls has lyrics that are even more catastrophically cliche than its title.

 

[bono_man2002]

I almost brought the DT album Saturday (yes dial up = buying music again)...But I settled for Icky Thump instead

 

[Axver]

I almost brought the DT album Saturday (yes dial up = buying music again)...But I settled for Icky Thump instead

Eh, Systematic Chaos is still better than that Icky Thump garbage.

If you don't have albums such as Awake, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, or even Octavarium, get them before Systematic Chaos.

And you're on dialup again? You have my pity.

 

[bono_man2002]

Eh, Icky Thump is still better than that Systematic Chaos garbage .
pity.

couldnt have said it better myself

Yes.....Dial Up= Shithouse.

I have Awake and Six Degrees, as well as Images And Words...and the 20th Anniversary tour one.

 

[Axver]

couldnt have told a bigger lie myself

Fixed for you.

Yes.....Dial Up= Shithouse.

I have Awake and Six Degrees, as well as Images And Words...and the 20th Anniversary tour one.

In which case, you need Scenes From A Memory and the criminally under-rated Falling Into Infinity. Hell, everything's good. I just don't enjoy the last three albums nearly as much as the first six, though you may appreciate the Muse influenced songs on the latest two albums (Panic Attack and Prophets Of War being the most notable examples).

 

[elevation2u]

Best Discovery : Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Wonderful Surprise: Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
wasn't too convincing on first listen but has only gotten better with each listen, and there has been plenty since

Disappointments-

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
good but not great,
at least I didn't find it as great as everyone else seemed to.. and the album had no lasting effect


anxiously waiting to hear:
White Stripes - Icky Thumo
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

 

[corianderstem]

I was surprised by how much I like both LCD Soundsystem and The Shins latest albums.

I don't think I picked up any that ended up being disappointments.

*commercial alert!*

My biggest surprise was the Off the Clock CD Starbucks put out. It's a collection of bands/artists who work at Starbucks (if it's a band, just one of the members had to be an employee). I figured it would be a bunch of dull indie bands and sensitive singer/songwriter stuff, but I was seriously impressed by how good it was. Lots of really good stuff, in different genres.

*/end commercial*

 

[I'm Ready]

Surprise:

Menomena-Friend and Foe

I had never heard of these guys, but their sophomore album has some great stuff

Disappointment:

New Pornographers-Challengers

I know it hasn't been released yet, but I heard the leak. This album is not a disappointment because its bad, which its not at all. However this band has the potential to do something great, and they certainly did not do that on this album

 

[If you shout...]

Disappointment:

New Pornographers-Challengers

I know it hasn't been released yet, but I heard the leak. This album is not a disappointment because its bad, which its not at all. However this band has the potential to do something great, and they certainly did not do that on this album

I couldn't even begin to disagree more, but it's all good. At least you don't hate it, right?

Biggest Surprise: Dan Deacon's Spiderman of the Rings or The Ike Reilly Assassination's We Belong to the Staggering Evening

Both of those came out of nowhere, for me, and just blew me the fuck away. My two favorite albums of the year, so far, and I'd not heard of either of them (or even their creators, in truth) until their respective release dates. Wonderful Tuesdays full of wonderful surprises, those.

Biggest Disappointment: Wilco's awful, awful, awful Sky Blue Sky

I never knew that shit could be blue, let alone sky blue, but here we are... I guess you really do learn something new, every day.

Gruff Rhys's new solo album, Candylion, was also humblingly bad. I'm worried about SFA, but hopeful that things will be OK.

 

[LJT]

^You could think of Rhy's album as getting the crap out of his head before the next SFA album.