For many
musicians and
bands, it's not the first
album that's hard to produce; it's the second one. The first one is easy to make, since you've got a
lifetime of experiences to write about, so it's easy. But then, you're expected to produce a second album in a year or two, and it's just difficult to do ... all the
experiences up to the first album have gone into it, and there's just not enough there to go into the second. Plus, if your first album was good and gets popular, subsequent albums are expected to be even better, and the high expectations can be pretty intimidating to a band. Example:
Weezer.
The phenomenon isn't just limited to bands, it can also be experienced by authors or movie directors.
If the band can get past the second album, things usually work out, unless the band implodes.