Most Disappointing Albums of 2005

NOTE: None of these albums are "bad," per se. They just have some really bad songs on them, or they're not up to snuff with the musicians' previous releases.

• Daft Punk, Human After All
  The title of this one really says it all. Daft Punk waited four whole years before they delivered a follow-up to their 2001 opus Discovery. So, why did they decide to spend a measly two weeks recording it? With so much riding on this release, is an album with just ten tracks (nine if you don’t count a 30-second interlude), most of which consist of one semi-catchy electronic riff repeated for four minutes, really worth the wait?
  
  
• Lemon Jelly, '64-‘95
  Lemon Jelly has traditionally been the “diamond in the rough” as far as electronic groups are concerned. Their warm, sunny acoustic guitars and playful melodies would make them the perfect music to play on Sesame Street, if Sesame Street had a disco. But with their newest album, they get bland, boring, and jarringly repetitive. Take the song “Don’t Stop Now,” in which a whispery voice repeats the title for seven minutes straight! Even songs that appear to be good in theory (like “The Slow Train” sampling a barbershop quartet) come off poorly in execution. Lead single “Stay With You” sounded great in a radio edit, but on the album, they pushed the lead vocal all the way back to the three-minute mark. Still, it doesn’t stop Lemon Jelly from pulling out a zinger. “Go,” the final track on the album, features a dark and hushed vocal performance from none other than William Shatner, and ends with a blazing rock finale. At least they know how to end with a bang.
  
  
• Röyksopp, The Understanding
  Röyksopp had delivered a solid debut album, 2001’s Melody A.M, featuring “Poor Leno,” my pick for one of the best electronic singles of all-time. But on their second album, they opt out of the organic production values that made that first record so great. Instead, they deliver an album that's all gloss, with a squeaky clean mix and no songs that compare to past hits like “Poor Leno” and the music box anthem “Eple.” Lead single “Only This Moment” is decent, but it’s not hard to imagine any electronic act in Europe churning it out. Melody A.M. delivered something distinctive in the tiresome electronic scene, but with The Understanding, it feels like Röyksopp is apologizing for trying to sound different from everybody else.

Albums That Were Decent (But Could've Been Better):

• Beck, Guero
  C’mon, Beck. Some of these tracks are alright (as a matter of fact, “Earthquake Weather” is one of your best), but don’t try to pass off “Hell Yes” as an actual song! No wonder you tried to get every DJ you could find to remix your album. Let’s hope they breathe some life into these bland tracks.
  
  
• Morcheeba, The Antidote
  Let’s see. Morcheeba replaces lead vocalist Skye Edwards with a Shirley Bassey clone and they end up with an album that sounds like it was made by Bassey, not by Morcheeba. How come no one saw that coming?

Alright, enough with the negatives! Best New Artist and Best Compilation are coming soon!