[maxperenchio]

Well no one would ever admit to doing that... but i think an_outlaw's point is valid though- as a general trend, i think critics are often obsessed with career arcs and "album-to-catalog relativity" more so that how an album might stand by itself. I would wager that modern commercial reviews are generally slanted against album number two, especially when album number one had typically positive press.

[joannajewsom]

No one would ever admit to doing it because no one would ever do it. If the 2nd is better, they'll say it's better. Of course the 1st album creates certain expectations for the 2nd album. The 1st and 2nd does the same for the 3rd, and so on. That's true for both fans and critics, whether they would like to admit it or not. There really is no such thing as listening to something on its own terms, because our history with all the music we've encountered determines how we react to any new piece of music we hear. Our history with an artist's past work plays the biggest role in determining our reaction when we encounter an artist's new work. I don't see what's so profound about pointing this out. Seems obvious. The poll question doesn't even make sense, so I'm not even sure what his point is, or if he even understands what the sophomore slump is. The only logical answer would be sometimes. It's all subjective would be true, but that's redundant to say on a music site.

[maxperenchio]

[joannajewsom]

I fear we're having two different conversations here. Really, what I'm talking about is determinism. When I say history, I'm talking about our personal history of listening to music, but also all of our past experiences and the psychological effects they have on us. It's impossible to not let these things affect how you view a work of art or anything in life. I think you'd have to be superhuman to dig deep enough into your psyche to purge all the effects that your past experiences have had on you, any preconceived notions that you have of music and the particular artist, and go into an album with a blank slate. You go into every album with a certain taste in music and a certain general idea of what music can and should do, all of which has been shaped by every other piece of music you have heard, and that affects how you react to what you're currently listening to. In that sense, no work can truly be autonomous. Specifically regarding second albums, if you've heard the first, your brain will naturally view it relative to what you know of the artist's work, mostly on a subconscious level, and just as you go into an album with certain expectations for music in general, you go into a 2nd album with certain expectations for the artist. I think it's something we naturally do. Maybe critics do it more, maybe they don't. It's dependent on the listener, but we're all guilty of it to some degree. At least critics try to understand how their expectations affect them and speak frankly about those effects of which they are conscious.

[Kiki]

Sorry, I think I explained myself poorly 😕

As maxperenchio said a few posts back about the "sophomore slump". I meant to ask if people believed that existed or not.

Here is an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophomore_slump

Thank you for all the points raised so far 😄

[joannajewsom]

All of those factors associated with the sophomore slump exist and happen. I still don't know what you mean by asking if the sophomore slump exists. Expectations exist. Pressure and obstacles exist. Failure to meet expectations due to certain obstacles and pressure exists. It doesn't matter what people choose to name it.

[purple]

[quote="joannajewsom"]All of those factors associated with the sophomore slump exist and happen. I still don't know what you mean by asking if the sophomore slump exists. Expectations exist. Pressure and obstacles exist. Failure to meet expectations due to certain obstacles and pressure exists. It doesn't matter what people choose to name it.[/quote]

Exactly, think Interpol

[TrekkiELO]

It's all subjective.

[HigherThanTheSun]

Debuts tend to be better in my opinion but this doesn't bias my opinion when I'm listening to an album, I don't care if it's their first second or fiftieth I'll still judge it by how much I enjoy it.

Debuts are when artists tend to be at their most raw and most original, these albums tend to have a greater impact also as they are sounds which haven't been heard before.

In my top 20, 11 albums are debuts which is definitely disproportionate.

I voted for 'sometimes' because they're was no option for 'more often than not'.
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Shut up mate you're boring!