Try Harder: A.F.I.

One of the albums I fully anticipated to be on my (forthcoming) year-end top 10 list was A.F.I.'s "Crash Love," which instead ended up being one of the biggest musical disappointments of the year, in my opinion.

Coming on the heels of their exceptional previous release, 2006's "Decemberunderground" (which will be on my also yet-to-be-written Best of the Decade list), "Crash Love" had a high standard to live up to. And there's a few great songs on the album, most notably "End Transmission" (see link below). But for the first time, in my opinion, Davey Havok and company just seem to be ... well, uninspired. Like they're phoning it in.

And I know that's harsh, and untrue. Having seen the band perform live last month, I can say with confidence that they're just as passionate about their music as ever. I just wish I was as well.