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.

Discovery – LP

Beggars XL 2009

Rating: 3/10

Hipster darlings and fellow New Yorkers Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot have made their names performing brainy, worldly rock music that, for all its calculated charm and schoolboy shtick, never came off as overly arty, or, worse, pretentious. Honest, thoughtful, impeccably catchy – many an overwrought blogger has written more than I need to relate here. Just don’t try applying anything you’ve learned from those records to their newest bastard child, Discovery.

Featuring Wes Miles and Rostam Batmanglij, from Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, respectively, Discovery and its debut release LP is a vanity side project of the highest degree. A “fun-loving” record that embraces the cheesier aspects of modern pop music, it’s hard to tell whether Batmanglij and Miles are being ironic or painfully earnest. Not to say modern pop is inherently rotten; rather, it’s the duo’s uninspired production, lackluster songwriting, and persistently annoying use of Auto-Tune that condemn LP to the “what-were-they-thinking?!” realm.

It all starts off rather promisingly with “Orange Shirt,” a sparse R&B drumbeat and streaks of neon-colored synths framing some Vampire Weekend-esque vocals. “Osaka Loop Line” is even better, an engaging, down-tempo piece that builds off one of the record’s better hooks into a sublimely pleasing chorus. Unfortunately, around the 2:46 mark a meandering breakdown inexplicably turns into the equivalent of an electronica trash compactor. Take the original Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, toss it into a blender, and then gargle the results and you have what the backing track sounds like by the song’s conclusion.

Indeed, as the album continues, it’s the duo’s ill-advised production choices that continually turn agreeable synth-pop into ego-fueled sludge. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” features an absurdly annoying guest vocal by Dirty Projectors’ Angel Deradoorian that reminded me of children playing with the pitch control on their Casios, while one might be forgiven for thinking that “Swing Tree” was actually recorded with toy synthesizers. Then again, no amount of cheaply-recorded bloops and bleeps can redeem run-of-the-mill lyrics like “when I saw you at the discothèque / send my vibe out to you” or “it’s hard to stay cool / when you smile at me.”

The welcome arrival of Ezra Koenig on vocals makes the thumping fuzz of “Carby” a highlight, but the good tunes on LP are few and far between. By the time you’ve reached the Auto-Tuned-to-death deconstruction of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” it’s difficult to tell whether this is all an elaborate joke by Miles and Batmanglij. Taking a stab at pop music is all well and good, but when you half-ass the production and make songs about as aesthetically interesting as a pastel paint-by-numbers, don’t expect to be taken seriously.

Perhaps LP is really an ingenious satire on the state of mainstream pop music. Perhaps the dudes from Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot are secretly having a laugh at the expense of Top 40 America. Then again, maybe Discovery is just what happens when people get a taste of success and decide to unload all the products of their misspent youth on a public that doesn’t know better. Not cool, guys. Not cool at all.