10. Fergie, Double Dutchess

BMG Rights Management

Metascore: 53 

After an 11-year hiatus, Fergie finally returned with her sophomore solo album, Double Dutchess.  Unfortunately, that’s about the best thing to happen with the project.  The first rub in regards to Double Dutchess is that it was a commercial flop.  The next rub? Critics were mixed at best, awarding the effort a mere Metascore of 53. Unfortunately, the sample size is small with just 4 professional reviews.

The Observer and Slant Magazine weren’t brutal on the album, awarding a Metascore of 60. Alexa Camp (Slant) asserts that:

“Fergie struggles to balance the new with the old throughout the album. Where Stefani’s raw confessionals helped distinguish This Is What the Truth Feels Like, though, Double Dutchess is stuck in the past… Lyrically, the songs on the album rely heavily on braggadocious hip-hop tropes.”

Yeah, Slant is still critical.  AllMusic (2 ½ stars / 50) and Pretty Much Amazing (C- / 42) are less forgiving.

Our Take:

 We were above the aggregate, being a bit kinder to Fergie assigning a score of 3 out of 5 stars or a Metascore of 60.  That’s in line with The Observer and Slant Magazine.

11. James Blunt, The Afterlove

Atlantic UK

Metascore: 54 

Keeping it real, it’s been years since James Blunt has been really relevant.  Calling The Afterlove highly-anticipated would be a massive overstatement.  Critically, Blunt “laid an egg,” only earning an aggregate score of 54.  However, it should be noted that within his career, The Afterlove marks his highest scoring album! Disclaimer: His debut, Back to Bedlam wasn’t included in the tally.

Only 4 professional reviews arrived for The Afterlove.  Three awarded Mr. Blunt a Metascore of 40. AllMusic was the outlier, rating the album 4 out of 5 stars! Reviewer Neil Z. Young was impressed:

“Afterlove is a brave bid for contemporary relevance in 2017, a wonderful step outside his comfort zone that is more memorable and exciting than much of his output this decade.”

Our Take:

None – didn’t cover it.

12. Prophets of Rage, Prophets of Rage

Concord

Metascore: 54

Newly formed rock-rap collective Prophets of Rage released their self-title debut album in 2017.  Safe to say, the reviews were not positive, given the Metascore of 54.  Surprisingly, this was a well-covered album, with 19 professional reviews.  4 reviews (21%) were positive (NME, Kerrang!, The Line of Best Fit, and Classic Rock Magazine). 14 reviews (74%) were mixed, including 8 with a score between 40 and 50 – ouch.  The A.V. Club wasn’t feeling it, awarding the album a tepid Metascore of 25. Reviewer Clayton Purdom asserted:

“It is an album of obvious statements set to equally thudding music, liable to move and inspire no one.”

Our Take:

We didn’t touch the album, but we did review promo single “Unf**k the World,” which we awarded 3 ½ out of 5 stars.