12 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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Second album from American folk singer-songwriter famous for being a nanny for Tom Waits
7.6
...her melodies and nature-inspired imagery have the relentless, angular quality of Kate Bush or Björk. An assured innovative, impressive piece of work Read Review
Print edition only
Enchanting in parts, Hunting My Dress sounds like the sprouting of a wondrous new talent Read Review
Jesca has one of those voices that whispers sweet nothings one moment and provokes dire imaginings the next Read Review
A new sound that is both studied and inspired Read Review
Jesca Hoop might just turn out to be the Lady Gaga of freaky folk Read Review
This is what makes Jesca Hoop special, and is why we should treasure her: by drawing from her vast catalogue of experiences, she finds the scope for an engaging range of musical tangents Read Review
The dawning of a new, unique voice which, through its influences (both obvious and not-so), is blending styles and carving a niche in to the increasingly crowded canon of independent and original female artists Read Review
The nine tracks on this record aren't pieces of music that you can second guess, there aren't huge predictable choruses or predictable painfully rhyming lyrics, Hoop just doesn't work this way Read Review
There’s something enchanting about almost every second of the record. Hypnotic, trance-like and packed with ambience and atmosphere, Hunting My Dress is nothing short of a triumphant achievement Read Review
This is music crafted for those wise enough to realize that instant isn't the most satisfying form of gratification Read Review
Keep your ears peeled for what she does next. I have a feeling the best, weirdest moments on Hunting My Dress aren’t flukes Read Review
There are peaks and troughs to Hunting My Dress but, overall, the album’s deliciously odd ambience is one to savour Read Review
There's a disarming personality at work in these songs. How many other musicians would bother to write about hearing a DJ play one of her tunes off her debut? And how many could do so without sounding self-impressed? Read Review
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Jesca Hoop: Hunting My Dress
Wet Leg moisturizer
After the whirlwind of their debut album, the Isle Of Wight band could have capitulated to the pressure. Instead, they return smarter, sexier and altogether stronger NME
There’s also a fluidity to the entirety of Moisturizer that ventures beyond the limitations of the debut and everything Wet Leg signalled in their early stages Far Out
Barry Can’t Swim Loner
Loner is an easy improvement over Barry Can't Swim's debut album, and he retains his ability to craft reflective, sentimental material while strengthening his skills at making airtight tracks designed to ignite the dancefloor All Music
Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers double down on the weird energy of their debut The Independent
Rhian Teasdale and co’s second album brilliantly refines all that was great about their brash, bouncy debut The Irish Times
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
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
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