TOP 10 MOST OVERRATED ALBUMS OF 2024:

 

Every year I am baffled by some choices hyped by critics and this year here is the baffling batch:

1. Adrianne Lenker BRIGHT FUTURE (METACRITIC SCORE 8.7/10):

Lenker's one tone delivery bewitches critics every time...I can't claim to be a fan but it would be interesting to hear more variety and grit.

 

2. Beth Gibbons LIVES OUTGROWN (METACRITIC SCORE 8.9/10):

 who among us trip/hop fans doesn't love Portishead and, even more, Gibbons but alas those days are long over.

 

3. MJ Lenderman MANNING FIREWORKS (METACRITIC SCORE 8.9/10): 

even after repeated listens, I still can't hear the gems.

 

4. The Cure SONGS OF A LOST WORLD (METACRITIC SCORE 9.3/10): 

away for a long time and although there are pockets of sweet reverb, it begins to sound way too predictable after a while.

 

5. Blood Incantation ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE (METACRITIC SCORE 9.2/10):

 there's always that one metal record every year-end publication crows as epic.

 

6. Sabrina Carpenter SHORT N’ SWEET (METACRITIC SCORE 8.2/10): 

guess it's a case of her being in the right place at the right time because the music is bland at best.

 

7. Kim Gordon THE COLLECTIVE (METACRITIC SCORE 8.4/10):

the cool rocker aunt image aside, it's hard to sift through the total opaqueness of this record.

 

8. Jessica Pratt HERE IN THE PITCH (METACRITIC SCORE 8.9/10): 

a breezy but uninteresting run.

 9. Los Campesinos! ALL HELL (METACRITIC SCORE 9.0/10): 

even now, I could not name one track from this LP.

10. Cassandra Jenkins  MY LIGHT, MY DESTROYER (METACRITIC SCORE 8.8/10): 

time seems on a loop when Jenkins starts her songs.

TOP 10 WORST FILMS OF 2024 THAT I WATCHED:

 

Bad films are a blight unto society, but we acknowledge them and move on. Here are this year's batch:

1. THE DELIVERANCE (directed by Lee Daniels): 

Glenn Close aside, this was terminally bad and eye-rolling.

 

2. MADAME WEB (directed by S.J. Clarkson):

when the advanced press is extremely bad and the studio wants a write off, you know it's really bad.

 

3. TRAP (directed by M. Night Shyamalan):

at first I thought the characters were gonna break out in some clear acknowledgement of how bad the script was at some point but, alas, it never happens.

 

4. WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY 2 (directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield)

this is why poor low budget horror films that exceed expectations need not to exceed expectations.

 

5. THE CROW (directed by Rupert Sanders):

 

just an utter disaster.

6. THE WATCHERS (directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan):

maybe bad directing can b handed down in the genes, eh.

 

7. DIVORCE IN THE BLACK (directed by Tyler Perry):

from the ratchet-ass opening scene, this trainwreck careens wildly out of control.

 

8. RED ONE (directed by Hiran Garcia):

they spent $250 million on this?!

 

9. TAROT (directed by Anna Halberg & Spenser Cohen):

a bunch of unlikeable young characters in a bunch of uninteresting scenarios...you get the picture.

 

10. DAMSEL (directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo):

a real mixed bag.