Biggest Disappointments of 2012

So now that I’ve released my final lists for the year, you might notice two albums that are suspiciously left off. If you were involved in the music industry at all this year, you know that the top two albums of the year were Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange and Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.a.a.d. city. Normally, I tend to agree with some of the top albums of the year. This year is a stark contrast. These two albums are highly overrated, and that’s my humble opinion. Allow me to explain.


Let’s talk about Kendrick Lamar first. So many of the reviews and critics have praised Lamar for his writing and diversity in music. There’s nothing new here. Most of the tracks come in at four to five minutes, but some of them (“The Art of Peer Pressure” for example) are half just a recording of Lamar and his friends gabbing about how they got away from the police. That’s not story telling. It’s simply acting. As a long-time fan of Dr. Dre and the music he’s produced and created, I had an expectancy for Lamar. I was hoping for an old school sounding record, something like Eminem’s debut. There’s nothing here that is even close to reminiscent of Eminem’s debut, except maybe the language. 

The best track here is “Compton”, featuring the man himself, Dr. Dre. It has a deep, driving bass that gives a classic hip-hop feel. The rest of the album is not even close to this track. Lamar has skill, there’s no doubt to that. “Good Kid” is proof of that, which features some of his quickest and spit-fire raps. Other tracks, like “Backseat Freestyle” and “Money Trees” just talk about swag and don’t have a lot of depth to them, which disappoints me. Dre’s proteges have usually had a uniqueness to them, but Lamar doesn’t. 

Onto Frank Ocean. I don’t feel as strongly about Ocean as I do about Lamar. This guy can definitely sing. “Thinkin’ Bout You” is one of the best pop/R&B tracks I’ve heard in years. The main downfall for Ocean is the interludes, and lack of inspiration. “Sweet Life” is a classic R&B tune, with horns and a smooth disposition. “Super Rich Kids” sounds like Ocean doesn’t know which genre he wants to be in, rap or R&B. It’s got a Drake vibe to it, just Ocean can sing a lot better than Drake. This track also features another member from Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt. The pulsing piano-laced beat just drowns you into the emotion of the track.

I really could have done without the interludes and little recordings between some of the tracks. While Ocean’s album is quite impressive, it just didn’t stick with me. It’s not a classic, like past R&B albums have proved to be. It’ll take more than just Channel Orange for him to make it onto my list. The album is growing on me, but I don’t think it’ll get there any time soon.

Other albums that I was disappointed by:

The Lumineers, self-titled

The Offspring, Days Go By

Muse, The 2nd Law

WZRD, self-titled

Baroness, Yellow & Green

The Temper Trap, self-titled

TobyMac, Eye On It

The Mars Volta, Noctourniquet

Chromatics, Kill For Love

Beach House, Bloom

Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball

What are some of your disappointments from this past year? Sound off in the comments!