We should have kept emo rap in the 2010s where it belonged away from Colson Baker's grubby paws

God, shut up

Fashionably Late by Falling in Reverse is not only one of the worst (if not THE worst) albums of 2013, it may actually be in contention for one of the worst of the 2010s, let alone in the history of hardcore music. To a one, every bad decision on this album is as a result of frontman Ronnie Radke's hubris and toxicity, combined with ill-advised (or lack thereof) genre fusions, poor lyrical writing, and incoherent song structures in general (especially on songs like "Rolling Stone" and ... read more

Since its release in 2004, there has been a prevailing opinion that the debut album from the Las Vegas band is essentially frontloaded, in that its best songs are in the first half but the second half is either not as good or worse. Admittedly, the first five tracks hypothetically would make for a stellar EP, as some of the band's most iconic and popular songs show up in this half of the album such as "Somebody Told Me" and especially "Mr. Brightside" (aka the ... read more

I mean, it's literally in the name of the song.

The most predictably bad album of the year.

Cuddlemonster is a chaotic, manic, and noisy fifteen-minute album that also manages to be enthralling and impressive nonetheless. It most definitely is the kind of record that will repel people away with its abrasive qualities, most notably the practically bloodcurdling screamed vocals and the rather raw and lo-fi production quality (which lends itself to frequent mic peaking), but those qualities actually add to the overall listening experience rather than detract from it. The musicianship is ... read more

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned walked so Drum's Not Dead could run. After their dance-punk-infused 2001 debut, Liars took a left turn into more experimental, noisy terrain not unlike PiL's Flowers of Romance, right down to the lack of bass guitar (in part due to losing and gaining some members since their debut). It is in parts dissonant and abrasive, but also atmospheric and hypnotic. The stronger tracks on here lean more toward having a semblance of song structure while still maintaining that ... read more

While I respect this band (and especially Chester Bennington, RIP) and their influence on popular music over the past twenty years since their first few albums, I can't help but feel that a good portion of the tracks on here are rather formulaic - it's not a bad formula by any means, but having previously listened to a few of the singles in the past, it does come across like those tracks are there in service to those singles rather than standing on their own as solid cuts in their own right. ... read more

This album is the equivalent of going to a party and having a good time until things start to fall apart one hour in but you're stuck there for several more. There's a reason why songs like "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It" were chosen as singles over a lot of the other tracks on this album: even if they wouldn't be traditionally considered "good", they're easily the best songs purely by being dumb fun. Nearly everything else on here is just uninspired ... read more

I know A Promise is usually rated much higher by the music nerd-sphere (at least on RYM anyway) and Fabulous Muscles was one of their more well-known releases apart from Plays the Music of Twin Peaks and especially Girl With Basket of Fruit, but I think Fabulous Muscles is arguably the quintessential early Xiu Xiu record, serving as a perfect balance between their more avant-garde tendencies and their pop sensibilities (though some tracks are obviously more accessible than others on here). Some ... read more

The only reason why I gave this a 10 (out of 100) as opposed to just a straight 0 is purely for Rob Scallon's instrumental contributions, which are competent if clearly made in a time crunch for this project. Now, I will admit that I was a fan of the Nostalgia Critic when I was a young teenager - I even sampled a clip from a 2010 review he did for an unreleased song I made - but since about 2012, I stopped watching his content, which at the time I thought was because I kind of just grew out of ... read more

The To Pimp a Butterfly of bad albums. It may be unbearable to sit through the whole 95 minutes of this, but it's no less fascinating and awe-inspiring in how perplexing and bizarre many of the creative decisions are throughout. I'd call it an anti-masterpiece, but I feel like that would imply that this was made on purpose, when in reality there is no semblance of irony to find here - it's not like Corey Feldman's a professional shitposter or even signed to Flex Entertainment or something. ... read more