Albums '09: Past & Future

So 2009 so far has been a very good year for music that I like. First I'm gonna talk about CDs that have come out this year already that were good in my opinion. Then I'll movie on to some upcoming albums from some of my favorite artists.

LaFee ~ Ring Frei ★★★½

German "pop" band LaFee released their 4th studio album in January. I say "pop" because they are considered that in Germany however I myself would call them rock (or at the very least soft rock). Ring Frei is just as good as their previous albums and didn't dissapoint. Not stellar. But darn good. The stuff that was good was good but the stuff to skip was easily skipable. Oh and if you haven't heard of Lafee, the lead singer is female and is eighteen, believe it or not.
Download: Scheiß Liebe, Eiskalter Engel, Lieber Gott


Hoobastank ~ For(n)ever ★

I was happy with their first CD. I really liked their second CD. I absolutely fell in love with their third CD. I used to have a huge crush on openly atheist lead singer Doug Robb. What the fuck happened! I hated this CD. It just sounded like a b-side collection. Very unhappy. Boo!


Utada Hikaru ~ This Is The One ★★★★½

Simply one of the best CDs of the year. Her first english CD was amazing and this just blew it out of the water. I haven't fallen in love with an R&B album like this in a long time. I have a Pavlov's dog association with this CD because I was listening to it all the time while reading Carl Sagan's cosmos... but that's just random. So what keeps her from getting a perfect five stars? The last track, Me Muero. Perfect right up 'til the end. Strangely Utada herself says that's her favorite song. Oh well. An amazing R&B album by and amazing Japanese artist.
Download: Taking My Money Back, This One (Cry Like A Child), Poppin'


Marilyn Manson ~ The High End of Low ★★★½

Twiggy is back and it's easy to tell. A lot of people call this album 100x better than his last album Eat Me, Drink Me but I disagree (because I fell in love with Eat Me, Drink Me). Like LaFee's CD this CD has some amazing tracks but it also has some shitty ones. Luckily there are a lot of songs so once you weed out the bad ones you still have a near full album. Is he shocking anymore? No. Is he still a good artist. Absolutely. Manson will always be one of my favorites.
Download: Blank & White, I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell, We're From America


Taking Back Sunday ~ New Again ★★★★★

They kicked out (or he left) their lead guitarist. Did much change...? Nope. Why does this CD get a perfect score? Because I love every single track and don't skip anything. Fantastic album. The best CD that's come out this year.
Download: Swing Swing, Where My Mouth Is, Carpathia

Emir ~ Ben Sen Olamam ★★★★½

A new artist. An amazing artist. A clone of Tarkan (I swear!). Not only is he just like Tarkan, he was produced and written by Tarkan. If this doesn't get your seat wet nothing will (unless your a heterosexual male, lol). This CD just screams tarkan and I can listen to it all the way through. Not a perfect score because there are some 'ok' tracks. But overall, fantastic. I want more Emir!
Download: Ben Sen Olamam, Tornistan, Şeklim Başka

Cobra Starship ~ Hot Mess ★★★★½

Another near perfect CD. This one has one not-so-great track but the rest is pure gold. Be prepared to go feel like you're in a warp-zone between 1988 and 2009 with this gem. The best thing Cobra has going for them is a really unique sound. I highly suggest this CD even if you don't like thier first single "Good Girls Go Bad" as I would call that their second to worst song on the album. Perhaps a guilty pleasure, but hey, if it's good, it's good.
Download: You're Not In On The Joke, Hot Mess, Living In The Sky With Diamonds

~ So that brings us up to date. There is still a lot of new shit to come, see below. ~

Shakira ~ She Wolf
First Single - She Wolf
Release Date: Oct 5, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★★

First things first, I have always loved everything that has come out of Shakira. She is absolutely my favorite female performer of all time. Her new track, She Wolf (which is nothing like anything she's done before) is amazing. I cannot stop listening to it (and the Spanish version, "Loba" is just as good). I have complete confidence that I will love this entire album. Oh, and if you're a straight male and this video doesn't make you cream your pants... check your dick!!!


Sarbel ~ Untitled
First Single - Mou Paei
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★★★

I have pretty high confidence in this CD because Sarbel's albums have gotten progressively better over time. This next CD will be his fourth... and yes, he is a bit of a guilty please. I'm still listening to his last CD, Kati San Esena, like it was brand new. Oh and yes, the video is cheesy. But he looks pretty in it and I love the song.


t.A.T.u. ~ Happy Smiles (English Edition)
First Single - Snowfalls
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★

The confidence in this is low for two reasons. First of all, it's probably just going to be an English version of their last CD. Second, ... that's if we ever actually even get this CD. I've had to put up with a lot of crap from them, saying this, doing that. Oh well. I hope it's good.


AFI ~ Crash Love
First Single - Medicate
Release Date: Sept 29, 2009
Confidence - ★
Oh boy. Here we go. First things first, I love AFI. My absolutely favorite album of all time is their "Sing The Sorrow." Hands down. Send the competition home. But... AFI has been jerking me around a lot for the last two years. They announced an EP that never happened. They announced 2 music videos that never happened. I went to one of their concerts and they played for about 32 minutes while their opener Sick Of It All played for an hour and a half. They released a live DVD without a CD version ... oh wait, no, they released a CD too... a year later. So here we are, about 45 days away from a new CD. I hate the title of the CD. It doesn't sound anything like AFI to me. More like Miley Cyrus. Speaking of that. Check out the album cover here. Fucking ugly and gay and shitty. I hate it. And now I've listened to the first minute and a half of their first single and I am anything but impressed (despite how much Davey keeps shouting to the rooftops about how epic this CD is going to be). Oh and did I mention they had a 'Crash Love' t-shirt out a whole year ago and the CD still isn't out yet. Sounds to me more like Cash Love than Crash Love. Oh and I've seen a track-listing for the album and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not impressed.
What do I hope? I hope I love the CD. I hope Medicate is a bad sheep and the album as a whole is amazing. I hope it's just as epic as Davey is saying it is. I hope I love love love it but I cannot pretend to have any confidence in AFI right now. Prove me wrong boys. Please... prove me wrong.

Rammstein ~ Untitled
First Single - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
Release Date: Late Fall
Confidence - ★★★
The first single is really good, not amazing. Their last CD is was pretty good but not amazing. I hope the CD is great. They've been gone for a while so I hope that means they've been working hard!

3 Days Grace ~ Life Starts Now
First Single - Break
Release Date: Sept 22, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★
Their last CD was amazing and I can only hope they do just as good.


Atreyu~ Congregation of the Damned
First Single - Unknown
Release Date - October 27, 2009
Confidence - ★★★★★
I give this five stars because their last CD was perfect. It falls as my second favorite album of all time (a very close second to the aforementioned "Sing The Sorrow" by AFI). I could almost give this confidence four and a half stars because they're heading out on tour with Douchebag Undead this year. Lucky for me, I know that the band themself did not pick them, their record company did. Not to mention, I love the album title and the song titles seem very promising.


Tarkan ~ Gelenek (Rumored)
First Single - Unknown
Release Date - Late Fall (Rumored)
Confidence - ★★★★★
Everything that comes out of Tarkan is pure gold. He shits diamonds. My only hope is that the CD really does come out this year but as of yet we haven't had anything concrete. The only thing that is not going for Tarkan is how amazingly perfect his last CD Metamorfoz was. How do you go up when you've reached perfection?