musical disappointments 2009

I honestly expected 2009 to be a better music year than it has been thus far. But a number of things did not pan out as hoped. In order from least to most disappointing, here are five:

1. …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: The Century of Self is a good album. But to me, it feels like these guys have now made the same album three times in a row.
2. The Rifles: I thought No Love Lost was the best album the Jam never made. I found The Great Escape to be comparatively weak.
3. The Riverboat Gamblers: I love these guys. And Underneath the Owl is a good album. But for some reason, it just didn’t blow me away like their previous ones did.
4. The Stereotypes: Earlier in the year, their website and myspace page suggested they would be releasing not one but two albums in the spring. Sadly, I’m guessing this band is no longer a going concern which is damn sad because they were really great.
5. The Gaslight Anthem: No, my biggest disappointment is not the Gaslight Anthem. More that no new band has grabbed me this year the way they did last year. I had high hopes for a few but on repeated listenings, none of them quite panned out (So Cow, Let’s Wrestle, The Yolks).