The Year 2011 - Part II - The Worst Of

First off, a note:
I realize that this post is coming to you about 4 months too late, and nobody really cares about what happened in 2011 anymore.    I still do actually care about 2011, but that is only because I am sort of crazy about music and nobody bothers to talk to me. I started writing this list up in January, but didn't get around to finishing it, as I was unfortunately busy with college-related activities and what not. So without further ado, here is a short list of things that I didn't think were the best for 2011.

Nothing is all fairies, sunshine, and happy days. The unfortunate truth of life is that some things are going to just not work out the way that you planned them, and that not everything that glitters is gold. Take that for whatever you want, but at this point I'll just stick to talking about the music of 2011 that disappointed me, because [insert deity] only knows that talking about anything else at this point is going to send me off a cliff or something like that.

I feel as though the main problem that 2011 suffered from, was the lack of anything that really tried to be anything different from anything before it. 2011 was a year of being comfortable, of being nothing surprising, and a year of looking at what was going on in the mainstream world and saying, "Yeah, I guess I'm okay with that." Few things changed, and its hard to say that an objective good or bad, but some things just are not meant to be.

Please be aware of something in this post;  these are all artists that I like.  I could write entire dissertations about the releases and bands/artists that I didn't like from 2011, but that is something that is not the same topic at all.  They cannot dissapoint, since I had no expectations from them to begin with in the first place anyways.

So here are some of the major releases that ended up floundering, going against the grain of what is reasonable, and in some cases, just simply faltering and falling flat on their faces in 2011: And of course, remember that is all coming from my limited experience and background with the current and full stylings of the current musical landscape. Let's be honest, I'm the kind of person who really doesn't understand most of the things that are happening these days. I'm not nearly as hipster as you think I am.

Glassjaw - Coloring Book EP

Here's the thing about this EP. The unfortunate truth of bands that have earned themselves the cult status in that they are the sort of band which has developed its own dedicated fan-base, that is more than willing to take and accept anything that the band does as being excellent, simply because they have been shunned from the mainstream for being too "complicated," or "misunderstood" in many ways. If you aren't familiar with the history of Glassjaw, you might find them to be a bit like the musical equivalent of relationships with their record labels, as Joss Wheddon and Firefly had with their distrubuting network (FOX). They were dropped from Roadrunner after their first album simply because the label failed to promote the album in anyway, and after eventually signing to Warner, their contract was used up through legal battles because of how the record label didn't properly utilize the band either. For most people, Glassjaw is far more of a complex machine than most people are looking for, especially when it comes to terms such as "hardcore," a genre that has mostly been associated with brainless frat-boys and the sort of people who go to class wearing that same green floursecent beanie all day long. Even when it is the middle of September.

Glassjaw made this sound unique and clever. Their first two albums, were some of the most unique and clever pieces of mainstream hardcore combined with almost jazz qualities, and bit of the avant garde placed into everything they did. They were willing to get creative, messy, and a surprisingly important part of their sound, the sheer power that the band had when they played at full force. Coloring Book takes everything that the band has made from that sound, and puts it all into left field. I'm not one of those people who is going to yell heresy and fire everytime a band makes a drastic change, but it is perfectly okay to be honest about when that change comes from a bad place, and doesn't nearly do the band justice for what its abilities are, or the bottom line, creates good music. Coloring Book sounds like a light version of the Deftones, which in its own way is a very harsh dissapointment.

 The fact that Daryl Palumbo squanders his vocal talents on the boring electronic inspired drum loops and poorly recorded guitar parts only frustrates this equation more. Don't bother listening to the cult masses who are behind the band on this, this album is just a poor experimentation, that tries to make up for the lost time since their last full-length album back in 2002. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Radiohead - King of Limbs
Oh well jeez! I thought you were one of those hipsters who reads pitchfork daily and has bookmarked the Kid A review which floundered about how a perfect score was not nearly enough for an album that is apparently so groundbreaking that it relates to an IMAX theater and stillbirth. (Pitchfork's words, not mine). For the better part of the 2000s, though, I have mostly been disappointed with the output that Radiohead has made since the 90s. I won't go ahead and say that I disliked In Rainbows, but that was also a major disappointment for me when it came out. (I paid free for that album, and despite the unique model that surrounded it, I am glad that I paid nothing more for the album). However, Kid A was a decent album, and Hail to the Thief was certainly the best thing that the band has done since OK Computer and The Bends. It's hard to be objective about Radiohead, because just about everybody has their own opinions of the band anyways, and there are even more opinions flying around about the people that listen to Radiohead, and blog about Radiohead on the internet.

King of Limbs unfortunately, continues down the glitchy, electronic, and poorly moaned route that In Rainbows started. What do those words mean? The sound that Radiohead had is nothing that is particularly bad in any form on this album, but its the lack of inspiration, and a failure to cover any sort of new ground, as well as the failure to understand the best talents of the band in terms of songwriting. To be frank, if I were any of the instrumentalists in Radiohead, I feel as though I would have been fed up with the shtick I was given as a result of this album. I'm sure it works great in a live setting, but that isn't something that I have daily access to on my iTunes.  My dislike of this album is almost enough to deter me from the possibility of seeing them in the near future (and a quick glance at the setlist.fm database seems to suggest that they are going to be playing tracks from this album for quite a while).


Incubus - If Not Now, When

Incubus is of course, perhaps known as establishing themselves during the late 90s, early 2000s when just about everything that you heard on the radio was terrible.  They managed to get associated with most of these sorts of bands, partly through the association of each others acts and that sort of thing, but also because they shared similar values in terms of the sound and aesthetic that they went for.  Of course, they were nothing of the nu-metaling, or alt-grunge that most of people think of during that time period, but the fact of the matter was that they were a rock band with a harder edge, and suffered the same cultural associated fate that other bands such as the Deftones suffered from.  

The truth of the matter though, is that Incubus became a stellar band, fronted by one of the best modern rock vocalists and one of the most creative guitarists in today's modern rock scene.  They are far from hipster, or anything indie, and tend to lean towards the prog-rock side of things.  Their two breakthrough albums were interesting and well written, but then the band released two fantastic albums; A Crow Left of the Murder, a fantastic modern rock tribute that was far more progressive rock than anything else, and Light Grenades, which is one of the most fantastically experimental albums you can find on a mainstream record label.

Unfortunately, the band 5 years later came out with this album, If Not Now, When?  Perhaps the most interesting part of this particular disappointment, was the fact that in an attempt to diversify themselves further, and keep themselves separate from the rest of the pack that they have been trying so hard to deviate from, they've managed to revert to a more generic sound than anything else.  This album misses all the firing's in the pistons, and simply comes off sounding wishy-washy, false, and rather boring.   The only interesting part of this album is the lead single Adolescents, and that is because it sounds like it should be on one of their previous albums rather than this one.  The entire experience of this album as a whole still continues to point towards the talents and abilities of the band, but does nothing to say a continuation of the legacy that previous albums have established; shaking the ground that Incubus had to stand on as being one of the few good alternative rock bands left.

Oceansize Breaks Up

This one is not related to any sort of album in particular, but just rather the fact that one of the best post-rock/prog rock combination bands decided to call it quits in 2011.  

I should preface this statement with a short note about the fact that although I didn't like the band's last album in 2010 (Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up, which is a real shame, because that is just a FANTASTIC album title), Oceansize was still one of my favorite upcoming indie-ish bands with real talent and an appreciation for the long winded and progressive.    For anybody who hasn't heard the band before, think of a hybrid act between Explosions in the Sky and Tool.   That probably isn't the most accurate description of the qualities of the band, but its something that I was able to come up with on short notice anyways.

I guess what I found really disappointing about this break-up, besides the fact that one of the best young British bands breaking up in the first place, was that they never had any sort of exposure outside of Europe, and it would be truly unrealistic to think of anything otherwise now, considering the fact.   However, if you are reading this, and you are intriguing by the possibilities of epic indie post-rock songs sprawling with spacey guitars, hard riffs, and some triple guitar harmonies being played over post-rock soundscapes with a bunch of British-isms being sang over top, then you definitely need to check out the albums Everyone Into Position, and Frames.

Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist

I feel a little bad about including this album on a list of disappointments, considering the fact that most people, well I'm pretty sure anyways, would have considered this album a disappointment regardless of what had happened with it.  I haven't run across many JA fans who were particularly excited about the existence of the album, especially with the subsequent loss of the band's bassist.   The fact that Perry is in his 50s, and does more with his time managing commercial festivals rather than singing or making the band the quirky way that they so established back in the late 80s, early 90s, there really was no way that this album could have properly fired on any of the right times anyways.

And of course, the album is just as bad as you probably think it would be.   I never really listened to Strays much when it came out 10+ years after the band's pinnacle, and I can imagine that this album is only slightly worse than that.  There are still many of the same elements present that made the band special way back when, but as just about any album that comes out late after the fact, those elements remain calculated rather than the spontaneous and natural state that most of us would prefer.  

Perhaps the biggest fault on this album more than anything else, is just that it simply tries too hard to establish itself as important.  The songs themselves remain a little generic, but you can tell that this is likely the same people that penned the "classics" way back in the day.    There are no tracks that are non-listenable, and generally the songs are at least passable.    Sometimes however, when you have legacy to live up to, that isn't enough.

 
Pure Reason Revolution Breaks Up

Interestingly enough, Oceansize was not the only young, British, progressive rock influenced indie band that decided to break up in 2011.  Pure Reason Revolution, perhaps most interesting for their rather unique combination (that surfaced more in the later work rather than their earlier work) of electronica and progressive rock influenced indie bend alternative cocktail.

Pure Reason Revolution managed to release 3 albums in their rather short lifespan, each one unique, and fantastic in its own way.  My personal favorite was Amor Vincit Omnia, their very impressive and unique sophomore release.  I think what was really unique about this album, was that it felt so organic, even though the majority of the album was based around electronic beats and movements.   The way that the band combined the style of progressive rock vocals that you remember from the early 70s, with the electronic soundscape of trip-hop artists, and the more organic feel of bands such as Rush, made the album a smashing success in my book.  Their first album was a little bit more generic, progressive rock flair.  However, the band is worth listening to for their harmonies alone, and the fact that they have plenty of great songs to boot is another fantastic quality.

Likewise, the band will likely never get any sort of recognition outside of Europe, and so this is likely the last you will hear of them.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Few bands get the appropriate second-wind in their career like the Red Hot Chili Peppers did back in the late 90s, early 2000s.  They had previously already had a hey-day back in the early 90s and late 80s, but they managed to re-establish themselves as being a relevant rock band with that sort of funk element that has been missing from the alternative eras of the 90s.

While I still have yet to really get into anything the band has done pre-Blood Sex Sugar Magik, I really enjoyed the band's 90s and early 2000s work.  I'm by simply admitting that I think Californication was one of the best albums of the 90s, and that I personally would prefer to listen to it over their 1991 masterpiece already ruins most of the indie and hipster credibility that I have.  However, the pure nostalgia and what not that is associated with that album (not to mention, it was one of the very first albums that I ever owned that wasn't from an admittedly terrible knock-off Christian band) is a bit special to me.

However, the reason that the Peppers were able to successfully stay around despite their age and the fact that most of their audience was new fans by this point, rather than the old ones (I think most of them died due to heroin overdoses), was because they managed to create a unique and relevant sound.  For better or worse, this was mostly because of their guitar genius, John Frusciante.  Here's the thing about John.  Some band's are simply not the same without certain people being in them.  Faith No More would not have survived if it had lost Mike Patton after Angel Dust, and likewise, after the (underrated) bust that was One Hot Minute, the Red Hot Chili Peppers would not have surived if Frusciante had not decided to rejoin the band.  His presence is not unlike that of Graham Coxon in Blur.  His personality, even though it does not remain the dominant force (and we have our equivalent egotistical narcissistic personality Anothy Keidis to thank for this), the unique element of his voice in the music pushed the band from being interesting, into the unique category.  It's not unlike the Tom Morello effect.

I'm With You suffers from the same problems though that post By The Way Chili Peppers suffers from.  There is simply too much material on this album, (even though it isn't a double album unlike their previous release) and there is too much that simply sounds the same.  This album is still umistakeably RHCP, but there is one more element that you may or may not be aware of.   John Frusciante is no longer in the band, and they have this young little whipper-snapper who's name sounds like something you would make up for a new tween vampire novel.  The fact of the matter is, the rest of the band does their best to make these songs interesting, and to be honest there are some winners on this album. Brendan's Death Song, is just a fantastic cut, no matter how you look at it.  On the whole though, this album is far too dense to stand alongside the legacy that albums post- By The Way,  or even post BSSM  have to live up.

dredg - Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy

There is really no way around the fact of the matter; this is by far one of the worst albums that has been released this entire year, let alone in the last 5 years.   What makes matters worse is the band that released it.  I remember when I was 12 or 13, I found out about dredg for the first time. I was into things that were far angrier, far heavier, and far less interesting, but I still managed to discover the masterpiece that was El Cielo.   Beyond the angry screaming music of the early 2000s, dredg managed to establish  themselves as a lush, progressive rock band with a very strong indie sensibility.  The songs were beautiful, the arrangements appropriate, and aside from the rather gimmicky pretense of their first album, dredg has managed to do no wrong.

Until now.  

Imagine the sound that you have spent years perfecting; the lush arrangement of textured guitars, subwoofer worthy basslines, and the fantastic crooning of vocalist Gavin Hayes, abandoned and replaced by "beatz" and "trackz" created and perfected by Dan the Automater.  If you know anything about dredg, then you should know that this can only just be terrible.  

This album is awful.  Its not interesting to listen to.  The songs themselves are ruined by the fact that the band has abandoned what they do best for generic beats, auto-tuned vocals, and a further move towards generic, pop-stylistic songwriting.   Just go back to their previous albums, this one is not worth your time.

Still Waiting for the new Tool Album

Obviously, writing about this "dissapointment" brings up all sorts of issues regarding the sense of entitlement that fans feel they have when it comes to bands releasing music.  The fact of the matter is though, this is really not so much related to that, rather so much as it just relates to the fact that I'm just a bit bummed out from having to wait a while longer.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the most recent trends from Tool, (probably because you are all more hipster than I am), they have only released 2 albums in the last 11 years, and both of those albums came with a rather long 5 year wait between them.  Of course, since those two albums were Lateralus, and 10,000 Days, the wait between albums was worth it.   I have no intention of amping up whatever the new material the alternative prog rock masters are working up this time, but I'm sure its equally worth the wait.  Its just sort of disappointing to see all these side-projects from members of the band (mainly the most mediocore Puscifer) and having nothing to show for it.    

Likewise, looks most likely to be a major dissapointment for 2012 as well, as most sources seem to indicate that based on what little information that there cryptically is, we won't see anything from them until 2013.  

So there you have it!  A long list of things.   I'll write an article sometime this summer, talking about 2012 and the things in it that you should check out, and the things that you should be looking forward to in the rest of this year.  So far its been a rather dull year with only a few good releases, but we'll see how things look over the next month or two.