11 July 2025
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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Another side project from the Bad Seeds pair, this time focusing on film scores
7.5
Print edition only
A compilation of soundtrack pieces shouldn't work on paper, but these evocative tracks stand up well after being separated from their original context. Read Review
In the hands of many other artists, White Lunar would be a career-high achievement. It’s testament to Cave and Ellis’ ongoing relevance that it can be released with relatively minimal fanfare – presumably with the knowledge that it’s merely the tip of a mighty, mighty iceberg Read Review
They can convey unspoken meaning to a visual scene in much the same way that Neil Young did with Dead Man, making the soundtrack as integral to the film as any other element Read Review
Notable among that material is the 19-minute "Sorya Market," which finds a lovely Cave piano interlude getting bridged by an extended period of silence before Ellis shocks the listener's senses Read Review
Like all great works of music, be it a film score or rock album, White Lunar entrances the active imagination. The sounds themselves are cinematic in scope, making for a rewarding listening experience and a very fine album overall Read Review
This doesn't eclipse their non-soundtrack work by any stretch of the imagination, and it occasionally lapses into texture that longs for its visual component, but by and large it's an involving listen that telegraphs a sense of emotional and geographic space. It's good to have it all in one place. Read Review
The Rider Song (from The Proposition) is a song worthy of any Cave album Read Review
I’d hide this in a shoebox with the words “only open on worst day ever” written in green biro Read Review
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: White Lunar
Wet Leg moisturizer
After winning multiple Grammys and Brits, the Isle of Wight band explore love and sexuality on their second LP – but there’s still room for some barbed put-downs The Guardian
Wet Leg’s balance of danger and relaxation pays off in this turbulently fun listen. Excitingly crafted and dangerously sharp, moisturizer is the sound of someone rolling their eyes at how lovesick they’ve become, then shrugging before seeing how far it’ll take them Northern Transmissions
Gwenno Utopia
Utopia is different from her previous work not just because of the language shift, but because of how it was made. Instead of starting electronically, Gwenno composed most of these songs on piano, recording live with her band in her living room. That choice gives Utopia organic warmth. The human touch is evident in how the instruments breathe together Northern Transmissions
Barry Can’t Swim Loner
Another that sounds like it will be blasted from windows of all kinds whenever the sun shines The Arts Desk
On his latest record, Barry Can’t Swim cements himself as a boundary-pushing voice in electronic music, one fluent in mood, movement, and meaningful reflection The Skinny
U.K. indie-rockers party hard and travel fast on their great second album Rolling Stone
Gwenno’s songwriting matures compellingly on Utopia The Line Of Best Fit
Kesha . [Period]
Kesha’s . is a mess of a statement The Line Of Best Fit
Pulp More
Far more than the themes of aging, sex, and loss, Pulp’s More straight-facedly spreads the word of love and it is the start of something new — a rebirth PopMatters
The Scottish producer trades sun-soaked bliss for emotional introspection – without losing the big drops musicOMH
A gorgeous and varied album that will surely soundtrack countless summers, ‘Loner’ is an accessible and creative collection of colour-splattered dance music whose myriad delights feels all the more impressive for the fact that, like all the best parties Clash
Moisturizer is a bold, confident blast fuelled by the security and invincibility of a deep love. Print edition only Uncut
Moisturizer shows, decisively, that while the metal gauntlets might be very much on, creatively, Wet leg's gloves are off. Print edition only Mojo
A reflective journey through memory and identity from an artist who proves that her music knows no boundaries, linguistic or otherwise musicOMH
Tinged with a sense of growth and resilience, Utopia is a work that spans 25 years. That surely deserves a celebration The Quietus
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange