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2020: The Year in Tiers - The Bad

The next tier in our 2020 recap is composed of bad, yet not terrible efforts. If you're desperate enough for some entertainment you'll likely find redeemable qualities scattered throughout but deep down in your gut you know what you're consuming isn't fully on the level. Much like the early quarantine bingeworthy docu-series, these are The Tiger Kings.

#100. May You Be Held by SUMAC

The further SUMAC strays away from it's raw industrial debut and continues to sink into improvisational unstructured ambiance, the less interested I become with this band. The free flowing path they started with on their previous record ultimately sounds like a jam session more than an album. The approach is a great way to establish the atmosphere their sound embodies but 4 records in and I'm looking for something a little more substantive from a group that's felt like they're on the cusp of their breakthrough going on 5 years now.


#99. Pray for Paris by Westside Gunn

The production here is pretty solid but every time a feature pops up, it really brings to light how much more the guest MCs bring to this album than Westside Gunn does. Especially when he tries to sing. Ouch. I enjoyed the wrestling references but as a whole his flow, pitch, rhythm and lyrics just do absolutely nothing for me. Really good at rolling his tongue to make a gun noise though. My nephew loves that when we play nerf wars.


#98. niiice by internet friends

This record isn't terrible but for some reason, it really just felt like the tipping point for me on the sparkle punk weed-core emo club. Every note can be traced back to the godfather's of the genre (Free Throw, Mom Jeans, etc) and it's done with such little subtlety or nuance that the entire proceedings kind of just pissed me off for how lazy it came across. Like a kaleidoscopic clip show of emo's greatest hits. Maybe I've just finally reached my limit for hearing "I hate my life, I wanna get high and go to bed" sung over tap solos.


#97. Song Machine, Season One by Gorillaz

Aside from a few singles here and there, the Gorillaz really haven't made a solid front to back record outside of "Plastic Beach". "Humanz" had some fun features that lead to momentary jolts of potential while "The Now Now" was a much more consistent listen despite lacking any stand out tracks. This record has neither. No standouts, no consistent curated sound - just a collection of abstract ideas molded into a very incomplete feeling album that perpetuates the wait for a proper "Plastic Beach" follow up yet again, begging the question "will we EVER get one?"


#96. The Mother Stone by Caleb Landry Jones

The breakout character actor from Get Out, Three Billboards, and Twin Peaks delves into classical baroque rock with his debut album which is not nearly as unbearable as it may sound in that description. It's just a tad uninteresting. It doesn't help that the album is longer than an episode of Twin Peaks and 5 of it's 15 tracks are 5 minutes or longer. It's rambling to say the very least and without much variation from song to song, it feels like he's almost daring you to lose interest. But there are definitely worse actor turned musician efforts out there.


#95. All Thoughts Fly by Anna Von Hauswolff

2018's "Dead Magic" was a brilliantly haunting, atmospheric achievement but Anna Von Hauswolff's follow up feels a bit too droning and minimalist to really achieve the same level of success. It definitely creates a specific mood, just not one that I'd care to revisit anytime soon and honestly, was a bit of a chore to finish on a single listen with how overly long some of the themes are stretched out.


#94. Glue by Boston Manor

Listening to the new Boston Manor reminded me so much of all the nu-metal pop rock of the early 2000's in the absolute worst way. Think Hoobastank. Think chain wallets. Think Papa Roach's "Lovehatetragedy" - after they ditched rap/rock but before they dove into bar rock ballads. Boston Manor hones in on a weird mix of industrial pop rock that's far too flat to mask the abysmal lyricism and without any substance, their repetitive instrumentals get incredibly tired incredibly quickly. Still, the band occasionally stumbles onto an intangible infectious energy that shows brief signs of promise. But way too infrequently.


#93. Splid by Kvelertak

Even though their last record felt like a bit of a stumble, I've been anxiously awaiting the return of Kvelertak. Unfortunately, that return comes with a new vocalist that's impossible for me to get passed. Their new slower direction is also a bit jarring but Ivar Nikolaisen's vocals totally torpedo any chance this album has. It's a huge bummer for a group that has felt like they're on the cusp of something great ever since their 2011 debut but with this latest release, it feels like their window may have finally just closed.


#92. Untenable by Bad Moves

Bad Moves definitely has some talent but currently, their song writing is just way too forced. This album really makes you appreciate the work that goes into crafting the perfect level of repetition that good power pop can achieve. "Untenable" is way too heavy handed and redundant to pull the formula off well. The record feels about as genuine as a collection of dated commercial jingles.


#91. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.

I do not understand the hype around this record. AT. ALL. Or for that matter, last year's "There Existed An Addiction to Blood". The horror-core aesthetic feels incredibly flat and the lyrical content unbearably hollow. Just nothing captivating here whatsoever. Diggs is a talented MC, but this feels like a shock value vanity project. Sorry, not sorry.


#90. Freeze, Melt by Cut Copy

Continuing to grow as a musician while maintaining consistency across albums is an incredibly difficult thing to achieve and for Cut Copy, the risks they take on their 6th LP don't really pay off. I appreciate the fact that they're willing to branch outside of the bouncy electro house they've been delivering for 16 years but it's hard not to miss the energy of their earlier work with these slower compositions. And I love the album cover, I just wish the lyricism had the same impact as the image did. Again, I appreciate the ambition to push for something deeper, it just doesn't appear to be here...


#89. Guardians by August Burns Red

It's not that August Burns Red's latest record is particularly bad per-say but their 8th album in 13 years just feels predictable at this point. It's nothing we haven't heard before and nothing that would stand out on a shuffled playlist of their entire discography. Which says something about their stability I suppose but at this point, I feel like if you're not branching out a little bit, why continue to release different iterations of the same songs over and over again?


#88. A Portrait of an Ugly Man by Remo Drive

Last year's "Natural, Everyday Degradation" may not have been as impressive as their 2017 debut but I still found a lot to like about it despite most fans chalking it up as a disappointment. Rushing to release a follow up to their sophomore record less than a year later made it seem like the band themselves were in image repair mode. Unfortunately this record falls off much much harder. The once impassioned vocals feel flat and uninspired and the anthemic guitar hooks are watered down into mid-tempo indie ballads without the playfulness and purpose that made Remo Drive such a promising young act.


#87. bug by Pictures of Vernon

It feels like we've been waiting for the Pictures of Vernon full length debut for way too long and the end result here feels like they may have let it marinate a little too long as well. There's no passion, no energy, no excitement. It feels like a chore, particularly on vocals. An obligation. It doesn't help that the record is just 28 minutes long, which is just 12 minutes longer than their 2015 EP that inspired so much hope around the group. The good thing is that the album's so forgettable that it won't be hard to restore faith and redeem themselves on a sophomore LP. But who knows when that will hit...


#86. Revolution Spring by The Suicide Machines

After a 15 year hiatus, the Detroit native skate-punk ska punks have returned and I'm still not really sure why. When we last left The Suicide Machines in the midst of the Bush administration, the group had nearly all but abandoned their ska roots and front man Jason Navarro embraced his hardcore influences for a more politicized message. Which makes it all the more puzzling that upon the band's return in the turbulent times of 2020, the group has reverted to their more subdued ska-punk sounds of "Destruction by Definition" and Navarro's political rhetoric feels fairly muzzled.


#85. Unlocked by Denzel Curry

After delivering one of the best hip hop records of 2019 with last year's "ZUU", Denzel Curry returns with another throwback - this time paying homage to underground hip hop legend MF Doom. And while Curry does his best to carry the collaboration, the beats from Kenny Beats are painfully uninspired. The 17 minute mix tape format makes it all the more forgettable as the songs absolutely fly by without leaving much of an impression whatsoever.


#84. California Cursed by DRAIN

DRAIN packs some fun throwback West Coast thrash into their debut LP but it was impossible for me to get passed the vocals. And along with the nostalgia they brought some harsh reminders as to why West Coast hardcore hasn't aged nearly as gracefully as their East Coast contemporaries. They probably would have been better off not to emulate the sounds they were influenced so directly and branch out a bit more next time out.


#83. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never by Oneohtrix Point Never

I've really enjoyed Oneohtrix Point Never's musical progression over the last several years, especially in regards to his film scores. However, this latest effort is hard to classify as anything more than a collection of 90's nostalgic bleep bloops, longing for the age of answering machines and terrestrial radio static. Granted, "Lost But Never Alone" may be the best stand alone track Oneohtrix Point Never has produced but it's buried among noise that's often difficult to discern as anything that even resembles a song. I get that boundary pushing artists are prone to taking wild swings like this every once and a while, I just hope this isn't the start of an experimental unraveling for OPN.


#82. Only for Dolphins by Action Bronson

The best selling author turned actor turned celebrity chef has certainly cultivated quite the following due to his larger than life persona but "Only for Dolphins" feels like the first time since "Mr.Wonderful" that Action Bronson's music is finally getting his full attention. There's still plenty of room for improvement but at least here he's not mailing it in like on "White Bronco" or "Blue Chips 7000". Hopefully this is a sign that Action Bronson is not just resigned to being a sub-culture mascot for public weed consumption and elaborately concocted munchies.


#81. Mystic Familiar by Dan Deacon

There's a lot to like about Dan Deacon's "Mystic Familiar" (namely the single "Sat by a Tree") but the 4 part movement of Arp I-IV dumped into the middle of the album really derails what had an incredibly promising start. Deacon is absolutely an indietronica name to watch, I'm just hoping he can edit down some of the more redundant and drawn out arrangements for his next record.


#80. Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between

by Man Man

Man Man had such an unpredictably manic quality to their earlier work that it's hard not to find their more toned down recent albums a tad dull by comparison. There are glimpses here and there of the Man Man we got to know in the early 2000's but it never fully bubbles to the surface and we're left with a restrained, overly long trip down memory lane that doesn't create any new memories in the process. It's like running into the once out of control party animal 10 years later at a grocery store; looking sedated while pushing a shopping cart full of diapers and a kid on his hip.


#79. On Circles by Caspian

One of my favorite post-rock instrumental acts of the 2010's, Caspian returns after a 5 year gap between records with a much more subdued effort than when we last heard from them. The aggression and relentless drive from "Dust and Disquiet" is sorely missed, as "On Circles" feels like a collection of hooks that never really connect. Punches that never land. Disappointing as it is, there's still a lot to unpack here, it's just not nearly as fun as they used to make it.


#78. Brat by NNAMDI

While the juxtaposition of auto-tuned nu soul, 808 hip hop beats, and acoustic math riffs didn't always gel for me - NNAMDI certainly had one of the most memorable debuts of the year. No one else quite sounds like this and even though the mixture didn't always work for me, I couldn't help but admire the experimentation and clever lyricism on display. NNAMDI may not have perfected his formula just yet, but the pioneering ingenuity he's displayed in exploring his wide array of influences makes me incredibly hopeful for where he goes next.


#77. Underneath by Code Orange

At this point Code Orange sound like the Cenobites from Hellraiser hacked into the Matrix and formed a super group. And while that may sound awesome at first, like the Hellraiser and Matrix franchises themselves, the constructs overstay their welcome the longer they go on. At first the nu-metal / hardcore crossover was fun but this record just goes off the rails into corny Family Values Tour territory. It's cool to see an underground band like this achieve mainstream success but they kind of fit the bill as WWE entrance music a little too well.


#76. Miss_Anthrop0cene by Grimes

Mrs. Elon Musk has become somewhat of a punching bag as of late but honestly, I found more to like on this record than "Art Angeles". She definitely seemed to have peaked with "Visions" but you know what, I'm okay her releasing inferior retreads of the same sound as long as we get a track like "4AEM" sprinkled in every once in a while. It's nothing earth shattering by any means, but this is a harmlessly enjoyable synth pop record once you divorce the persona and hype behind it's creator.


#75. Shore by Fleet Foxes

After the morose and disjointed tone of 2017's "Crack-Up", Fleet Foxes have returned to their more upbeat folksy roots with "Shore" and although "Crack-Up" wasn't my favorite Fleet Foxes record, it certainly wasn't my least. This is. "Shore" feels way too safe and predictable, like an album full of Band of Horses filler tracks. Not bad, just kind of passing the time until something dynamic occurs which on this record, never really does. It's a shame because up until now, Fleet Foxes felt like constant pioneers in the indie folk world but "Shore" feels like a stylistic retreat.


#74. Shrines by Armand Hammer

I love Billy Woods but everything he's put out since "Hiding Places" just makes me appreciate Kenny Segal's work on their collaboration all the more. The production on this record is just a little too scattered to really support Billy's flows and the frantic glitch-jazz instrumentation doesn't leave much room for the vocals to shine through. It feels like the music and vocals are constantly fighting for dominance, making it a tad overwhelming to listen to and difficult to really let any of it sink in.


#73. KiCk i by Arca

I was really hoping for something special here but unfortunately, the hype far outweighed the actual end product. The production is still as interesting as it's always been with Arca but the emphasis on vocals brought it down quite a bit for me. Especially the repetitive verses which became pretty grating at times. An uncompromising journey into the unknown that might have been better off dialing things back a notch.


View the Rest of the 2020 Year in Tiers Here:


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