Every year you get excited when particular artists queue up new releases and here are this year's 10 that disappointed the most for various reasons,,,
1. Kanye West Donda: it’s too long, has too many guests who add nothing. Donda was a big experimental risk that, like Ye’s current state of mind, is too bloated and in need of a good trimming to work objectionably.
2. Of Montreal I Feel Safe With You, Trash: Kevin Barnes’ brand of hyper pop is hit or miss but he’s had way more hits but this rehashes too many dead-end concepts to carve out anything interesting.
3. Dawn Richard Second Line: not sure how this project went south of great pop but it’s a big miss.
4. Jazmine Sullivan Heaux Tales: the concept is there but the finishing stretch falls away too literally.
5. Doja Cat Planet Her: more than anything else, Planet Her suffers from pacing and what, quite frankly, should have been excluded. The opening three tracks, for example, should not have made the final cut. They betray the upbeat, gleeful tempo of the following three tracks. And that’s where the magic ends.
6. Low Hey What: the band forgot to include any form of joy on this project and it shows.
7. John Grant Boy From Michigan: not only has Grant lost the plot but this confirms, joy as well.
8. Rostam Changephobia: maybe Rostam should always collaborate instead of going solo.
9. Virginia Wing private Life: starts with a promising opening three tracks but thereafter the band stays stuck within the confines of what has worked for them before, thus adding nothing new. Bummer.
10. Esperanza Spalding Songwrights Apothecary Lab: five years after her explosive fifth album, Spalding returns with a lovely jazzy delight but after blowing us away, this felt like a side-step back into territory she’s already conquered.
