A collection of ten records from the year that I either felt weren’t up to some of the incredible hype they received, were letdowns from a band’s previous release, or just ended up as personal disappointments. It’s been a great year and I couldn’t ask for any more excellent albums, but there’s always going to be some bad with the good, and 2009 wasn’t any different.

10.

Discovery – LP

XL Recordings

Released: July 7

Hey, I love Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot just as much as the next pretentious indie douche bag, but this side project, between VW’s Rostam Batmanglij and Riot’s Wes Miles, was an ill-advised dip into Auto-Tuned-to-hell pop mania that only reinforced the stereotype that side groups are where bad ideas go to die. Unable to decide whether it wants to be unironic pop or tongue-in-cheek hipster mockery, it fails miserably in both respects.

9.

Peter Bjorn and John

Wichita

Released: March 31

For their fifth album and first proper one after their breakthrough record Young Folks, Peter Bjorn & John inexplicably decided to tone down the sunny Swedish indie pop that made them famous and go all in on a bunch of dark synths and bad drum machine beats. The hooks are still there, but they’re mired under a layer of minimalist bleeps and boops and undercooked lyrics. While an admirable effort, Living Thing ultimately collapses under the weight of its own experimental tendencies.

8.

The Dodos – Time to Die

Frenchkiss

Released: September 15

Time to Die is a good record, but after last year’s ridiculously awesome The Visiter, this release seems more like a stopgap effort or, worse, an attempt to cash in on their blogosphere hype while it still lasts. There’s nothing wrong here, but it pales in comparison to its predecessor and never really brings anything new to the table.

7.

Tinted Windows – Tinted Windows

S-Curve Records

Released: April 21

Tinted Windows debut should’ve blown the roof off power pop, considering all the players involved. Unfortunately it turned out just the opposite, a rote piece of work that is enjoyable for a spell but largely reveals itself to be less than the sum of its parts.

6.

Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3

Atlantic

Released: September 8

Judging from Jay-Z’s habit of following a decent record with a subpar one, it should come as no surprise that The Blueprint 3 doesn’t match up to the American Gangster soundtrack, but it is a bit shocking that this may be Hova’s worst record since The Blueprint 2. Lackluster rhymes, vanilla production, and guest stars who routinely outshine the host, it’s a middling affair by a talent who seems content to let the young guns all pass him by.

5.

Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South

Merge Records

Released: May 5

Fresh off the riveting success that was his first solo album not under the Bright Eyes moniker, Conor Oberst decides to celebrate with his buddies in the Mystic Valley Band, and, less than a year after his self-titled, results in Outer South. And that’s exactly all it sounds like: a celebration that tends to find Oberst and friends fucking around in the studio and throwing together an over-long collection of half-baked Americana. Too much Mystic Valley Band, not enough sober Oberst.

4.

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Domino

Released: June 9

The hype surrounding this album was immense, but for all its intriguing edges and occasional flashes of clarity, it still remains an impenetrable mess of an album. From the discordant singing and random instrumental flourishes to the hyperactive song structures and lack of anything resembling a natural flow, it’s an album that tries too hard and ends up as merely a confusing jumble of experimental ideas.

3.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Warp Records

Released: May 26

A record that immediately drew me in with the fantastic “Two Weeks” and whetted my appetite for more with “All We Ask” and “Cheerleader,” I was ultimately disappointed with the overall results. It’s not that Veckatimest isn’t a good record; I can appreciate the meticulous songwriting and sharp production, as well as the rustic sort of experimental folk Grizzly Bear have mastered. But the album drags on for far too long without the kind of persistent hooks that the above songs promised, resulting in an album far better at lulling me to sleep than anything else.

2.

Clipse – Til The Casket Drops

Star Trak 2009

Released: December 8

Another fine example of artists at the top of their game coming up woefully short to matching the high standards now expected of them. Til The Casket Drops is, in regards to most drug-happy rap releases of the year, an excellent release, but considering the massive success of Hell Hath No Fury and the three years the Thornton brothers have had to work on a follow-up, it still comes up dreadfully short to what I’ve come to expect from Clipse.

1.

The Flaming Lips – Embryonic

Warner Bros.

Released: October 13

I can understand what the Lips were trying to do here. I can even praise them for their boldness and persistent pushing of their own boundaries. But do I have to enjoy it? While I really, really, really wanted to say yes, multiple listens eventually rendered it impossible. A grand album that is undeniable in its scope and ambition, it’s also a schizophrenic beast of a record that shunned my attentions more often than it grabbed me. In trying to redefine music, Embryonic lost me in its own meandering world, one that I struggled to get immersed in and which ultimately repulsed me.

Clipse – Til The Casket Drops

Star Trak 2009

Rating: 6/10

For Virginia Beach rap duo Clipse, what more fitting time to release their third album than when the weather starts to turn white? Brothers Malice and Pusha T have long made their name on critically-acclaimed, popularly-ignored hardcore rap that largely focused on one thing and one thing only: cocaine, and all the business ventures and death threats that go along with it. From their brutal lyrics, relentless flow, and minimalist Neptunes-provided beats, they’ve always seemed darker than their contemporaries, more real and, most importantly, more believable. But after yet another long layoff and another sub-standard mixtape to whet their fans’ appetites, Clipse have found themselves in a weird place: successful, and with nothing to prove.

Perhaps then they can be forgiven for making their first so-so record, one that on the surface seems to have all the necessary ingredients for another celebrated release. The brothers Thornton have retained their sharp tongues and smooth but distinctive flows, rapping out lyrics like “I keep that dirty money / I’m talkin’ fast cash / I’m talkin’ razor shaving / I’m talkin’ duffle bags” with the same equal amounts of nonchalance and subtle vigor that they use to spit lines like “hell, even my garage a ménage / like my hoes exotic, same as my cars” or “they think it’s cute / while they’re giving me dome” so viciously. They’re still obsessed with coke, although here they focus more on the money and fame it’s brought them than the actual travails of drug dealing. And the Neptunes are still on board, providing low-key beats with the focus on the brothers’ storytelling.

But while the formula is there, it seems that the cold heart that Hell Hath No Fury thrived on has been replaced with a lax sense of peace, a feeling that they’ve reached the plateau of the hip-hop/coke world and there’s no point in trying to find anything more to climb. Hell Hath No Fury was a drug-rap classic, an album fueled by Pusha T and Malice’s grimy, lurid stories, tales told with all the intensity of a grainy, black-and-white crime scene photograph. Til The Casket Drops, meanwhile, seems content to celebrate its’ creators’ ascendancy with look-at-me hoopla like the embarrassing “Kinda Like A Big Deal” and almost masturbatory self-congratulations like on the bland “I’m Good” or standard club jams like “All Eyes On Me” or “Counseling.”

These are tracks that call to mind less savory and far less talented rappers with nothing better to write about, songs that concentrate more on all the sluts Clipse can score or how much high-class clothing they’re currently sporting than the kind of realistic imagery they’ve made their name on. Clipse are still obsessed with reminding people that they “[got] it from the streets,” but when they follow it up with lines like “rockin’ those Prada goggles / you’re my next top model / you’re style like Jackie yo now just sit back and let ‘em marvel” or “pump that camera mama, rip that runway baby / now pop that collar, see them dollars,” it comes across as the kind of empty posturing Clipse used to be the antithesis of.

The Neptunes don’t help things with beats that often come across as recycled or merely undercooked, from the lame synths of “Champion” to the faux-funk of “There Was A Murder,” but by and large the blame here falls squarely on the Thornton brothers. Til The Casket Drop’s hollowness is even more glaring when they actually sound like the Clipse of three years ago. Opener “Freedom” spins a tale of redemption from a sweet sample, melodic electric guitar, and sharp string accents behind spirited verses, while a hard-hitting song like “Showing Out” calls to mind Hell Hath No Fury’s single-minded passion and boasts one of the catchiest choruses on the record. The best tracks, however, are those that return to Clipse’s roots, namely the one-two punch of “Door Man” and “Never Will It Stop,” both of which mix drugs, violence, and money in a volatile cocktail that always seems on the verge of blowing up in one’s face.

But Clipse can do so much better than much of Til The Casket Drops, and it’s disappointing to see such a talented duo seem to go through the motions so often. Clipse’s biggest strength was always their realism and combustive flow, and when they spend so much of their talents rambling on about tired rap stereotypes like girls, fast cars, and huge diamonds, it only makes the difference between songs like “Kinda Like A Big Deal” and “Never Will It Stop” so painfully obvious. It’s a deserved victory lap, to be sure, but one hopes that Clipse won’t lose sight of what got them here next time around.

Clipse – “Freedom”

See larger image Til the Casket Drops (Audio CD) List Price: $11.98 USD New From: $2.50 In Stock Used from: $0.93 In Stock Release date December 8, 2009.