17 February 2019
Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.
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Our archive of chart news from the past, and present.
Methyl Ethel Triage
The centrepiece Post-Blue is a creepy, falsetto-drenched melodrama that suggests even better to come Evening Standard
RY X Unfurl
There’s definitely a perfect time and place for these songs — the classiest of musical wallpapers Evening Standard
Avril Lavigne Head Above Water
The album’s enervating emotional drama makes this comeback heavy going Evening Standard
Chaka Khan Hello Happiness
It’s such a enjoyable comeback that you really don’t want it to end Evening Standard
The album is designed to offer solace while also being a rallying call. Inspirational music, in other words All Music
Ladytron Ladytron
A welcome return, Ladytron is a remarkably consistent and engaging album that befits the band's status as synth pop veterans All Music
Even when a surplus of synthesizers, organs, and flame-throwing guitars threaten to overtake her elsewhere, she cuts straight through with full-tilt, life-affirming power All Music
Homeshake Helium
His trademark vocal delivery of smooth and borderline erotic whispers and coos sound distant, as if Segar himself wasn't fully committed to what's coming out of his mouth Under The Radar
An accomplished return, and a welcome and relatable one for these dismal times music OMH
Pays respect to Khan’s funk and disco heydays, drawing a through-line via modern production’s showy window dressing The Guardian
At just seven tracks, ‘Hello Happiness’ could have felt like a tentative return. Instead, the less-is-more approach feels measured, and while not every track is a bona fide hitter, it’s still an album that delivers highlights with little filler Loud And Quiet
Pure escapism certainly has its place in these uncertain times The Arts Desk
Dutifully showcases her impeccable talent, the album itself doesn’t quite rise to her level of greatness Crack
RY X is a talented guy with a singular vision, but ‘Unfurl’’s title is misleading - it’s a little too tentative to have fully done so DIY
Staying true to his vulnerability, it outlines the growth of an artist sculpting himself into something new The 405
"It’s gorgeous" - The Guardian's verdict on the second album from the former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb while PopMatters say it's "mesmeric in its idiosyncratic splendor"
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past eight years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker
Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me