Second Album Syndrome?
 

A lot of second albums from bands and artists have come out over the past year or so that have'nt lived up to expectations. Is this because we have played the debuts to death? Not given the new releases enough air time to become familiar with it? Are they genuinely bad or is the slight change in direction disconcerting? Some things apply more to some bands than others, and there are certainly some great tracks on a lot of these albums too, but on the whole I have been dissapointed:

KASABIAN
KAISER CHIEFS
HARD-FI
ARCTIC MONKEYS
KILLERS
JOSE GONZALES
BLOC PARTY
SCISSOR SISTERS
THE BRAVERY
GRAND NATIONAL.

I would go one step further & suggest a lot of bands on that list didn't really have great first albums compared to how good the first couple of singles were.

I mean as far as i'm concerned nothing the Yeah Yeah Yeah's ever did topped their first EP.

You'll be able to add Klaxons to that list next year , you mark my words.

True some of those bands are not in my all time faves, but they are mainly work related artists that I play thatare safe as I work in a shopping arcade. They are bands that I would call switch off music. With the exception of KILLERS, GRAND NATIONAL, BLOC PARTY and ARCTIC MONKEYS whose debuts stand up to repeated viewings.

I never got around to finishing listening to Bloc Party's debut.
I heard about 6 songs that all sounded identical , got bored & turned it off never to return to it.

I hated BLOC PARTY'S album when I first heard it and repeatedly turned it off too, but it grew on me and is a damn fine piece of work. I listened to it a few days ago for the first time in a few months and was still impressed with it. If I find I get albums like that I programme the track listing from the end of the album to the start so I can get through the whole album. A ploy that i am glad has endeared me a lot more music than I would normally enjoy.

You left out the hives.

And I think Is Is by YYY's was the best thing they've done so far. I saw them this summer. Fantastic.

The only album I have by The Hives is YOUR NEW FAVOURITE BAND which i'm pretty sure is a compilation, so I did'nt feel it fair to include them.

Tyrannosaurs hives...meh.

You can add the Strokes to that list.
And the comments about Bloc Party are accurate. I listened to that first album with big expectations, judging by the noise people were making about it.
It just left me wondering what all the fuss was about.

I've been wondering what the fuss was about with most of those bands.

Of course there's only one winner in this thread as far as spectacularly screwing up your 2nd album goes...........

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...stoneroses.jpg

And it's not like they didnt have enough time to get it right either.

Second Coming was the first Roses album I ever bought.
I remember at the time wondering why everybody was saying it was so bad.

And then I bought their debut album & everything made sense.

A bad Hives album is much better than most other albums

that may be true, but my problem with the hives was the "samey" quality that all these bands are having.

who the hell are they?

I disagree with you that the second album from The Killers was subpar.....I like the direction they went in.....I can listen to their second album repeatedly. Also....I just love Bloc Party overall so they can do no wrong in my books.

They are The Stone Roses...one of the coolest bands on earth and responsible for one of the greatest debut albums ever.

Yeah sorry they had one minorly successful single here when I was much younger. I've never heard them beyond that one song.

Then treat yourself to the self titled album.
Roll a very extraordinarily long spliff and chill to the mellow tuneage that is the Stone Roses.

I am the reverse with the STONE ROSES. Their debut is just not my thing at all, except for a couple of tracks, but I love SECOND COMING. There are some storming tracks on there.