Before I continue to mine through my list for the year, do
know that there are other albums out there that don’t fall into any of these categories. It’s not a good or bad thing, it just
is. They weren’t great enough to make
the “Good” list; they weren’t bad enough to be—well—“Bad;” I’d obviously heard
them; and they’re just a little bit better than a level of indifference to be
listed in “Meh.”
Namely: Peter Murphy – Ninth, Born of Osiris – The
Discovery, Filthy Cheaters – Wake the
Dead, Repeater – We Walk from Safety
and a host of others found in the Album Reviews tab.
ANYWAY, let’s cover off on the “Meh” of the year. Again, in no particular order:
Mastodon – The Hunter
I just felt that The Hunter was more of a compromise than anything else. It struck me as an obvious pandering to the hipster audience that embraced Crack the Skye; though it was more stripped-down in the compositions like their older work. I really wanted more out of this album, and it’s just not there. It has two highlights, “Curl of the Burl” and the title track, but if the opportunity came along to trade it away, I would.
I just felt that The Hunter was more of a compromise than anything else. It struck me as an obvious pandering to the hipster audience that embraced Crack the Skye; though it was more stripped-down in the compositions like their older work. I really wanted more out of this album, and it’s just not there. It has two highlights, “Curl of the Burl” and the title track, but if the opportunity came along to trade it away, I would.
Innerpartysystem – Never be Content
I’m not sure if the album title was indicative of how disjointed this EP feels or not, but I do know that it makes me yearn to listen to their self-titled release more each time I spin it. These cats embraced the dubstep movement, which is one thing, but only half the EP is dubstep-ish. The other three tracks, “Out of Touch,” “Not Getting Any Better” and “Squid” speak more to their original sound—which is what I fell in love with. It’s not bad, but I’m not head over heels for it either. I’ll elaborate more in a future post.
I’m not sure if the album title was indicative of how disjointed this EP feels or not, but I do know that it makes me yearn to listen to their self-titled release more each time I spin it. These cats embraced the dubstep movement, which is one thing, but only half the EP is dubstep-ish. The other three tracks, “Out of Touch,” “Not Getting Any Better” and “Squid” speak more to their original sound—which is what I fell in love with. It’s not bad, but I’m not head over heels for it either. I’ll elaborate more in a future post.
Five Finger Death
Punch – American Capitalist
“The award for one of the goofiest band names goes to . . . “ It’s no wonder this group is a hit with meatheads. I will say that I am a fan of Ivan Moody’s voice—like Corey Taylor-lite—and the group has a knack for metal hooks, but I find it tough to latch onto their manufactured anger and when you compound that with one-trick-pony songwriting and the end result is just . . .”meh.” The remixes on the bonus edition are better than their originals as the electronics punch (no pun intended) up the songs significantly.
“The award for one of the goofiest band names goes to . . . “ It’s no wonder this group is a hit with meatheads. I will say that I am a fan of Ivan Moody’s voice—like Corey Taylor-lite—and the group has a knack for metal hooks, but I find it tough to latch onto their manufactured anger and when you compound that with one-trick-pony songwriting and the end result is just . . .”meh.” The remixes on the bonus edition are better than their originals as the electronics punch (no pun intended) up the songs significantly.
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