Following up on Monday’s end-of-year music post, I wanted to mention a few albums that are best described as disappointments.
First is Kacey Musgraves’ Star-Crossed. The album is not bad, it’s just — it’s just. It’s there. It’s background music that does not require nor demand much from the listener. Why a disappointment? Musgrave’s first few records were stellar examples if what’s possible with mainstream country, showcasing a unique voice and strong lyrical sense. Star-Crossed is just pedestrian.
Brandi Carlile’s In Silent Days suffers from similar flaws. Carlile is among the most important women voices in Americana — among the most important voices, period. In These Silent Days is mostly dull, veering into corny, and not up to the standards she’s set with previous releases.
Finally, there is Adele’s long-awaited 30. I loved Adele’s first two albums, and tolerated her third. Given that it’s been six years since that mediocre third album, I was hoping for growth, for something to recharge my interest in her music. Instead, 30 is nearly unlistenable. The songs vary little in tempo, moving between weak, cliched “Adele” soft songs and torch-like ballads, most running more than six or seven minutes. This is just a bad record, beginning to end.
As for the two I missed, Neil Young’s Barn is worth a mention, mostly because it has the feel of a well-worn pair of jeans. It is not Neil in experimental mode, but a fairly typical and consistent record.
Then there is Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s collection of cover songs from Georgia-based bands, Georgia Blue. As with the Los Lobos record, this is just a fun romp through a singer and band’s record collection.