6 May 2024
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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Fifth album of rap and pop from the Trinidad-born MC from Queens, New York with guest appearances from J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Tate Kobang, Drake, Lourdiz, Lil Uzi Vert, Skillibeng, Skeng and Future
6.6
While similarities to her 2010 original may run only name-deep, this sample-heavy – and sometimes emotional – material certainly holds its own Read Review
Refusing to be hemmed in, it’s a record of real ambition, an example mirroring fan-pleasing tendencies with actual artistic growth Read Review
Stepping away from Barbie-Girl pop towards her strengths as a rapper, this is the sound of a more mature artist in fierce command of her talent Read Review
The sound of Nicki Minaj cracking her knuckles and getting her hands dirty again. It’s the purest distillation of her uniquely feminine bravado Read Review
Pink Friday 2 is a long album, and it’s going to get longer Read Review
Thirteen years after her landmark album Pink Friday, the pop-rap superstar aims to conjure and build on that moment with an ambitious 22-song statement that is a very mixed bag Read Review
The pop-rap phenomenon is back with her first album in five years Read Review
While some moments of interpolation are more inspired, the musician’s increasing reliance on recognisable samples can start to feel like cruise control Read Review
Unlike its predecessor, the album doesn’t leave much of an impression. Read Review
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Dua Lipa Radical Optimism
Talk of a new musical direction proves unfounded as the Grammy-winning singer’s third album shares more retro-inspired dance pop and lessons from her love life The Observer
Kamasi Washington Fearless Movement
He doesn't merely juxtapose instruments and sounds, he painstakingly combines them, bringing joy, intensity, political, social, and spiritual poignancy in a vision at once focused, restless, and playful All Music
Camera Obscura Look to the East, Look to the West
Look to the East, Look to the West could not have been an easy record for the band to make: the obvious emotion and care they have poured into it are a fitting, hopefully healing tribute to a fallen loved one and a heart-warming gift to a fan base who feared they may never hear music from them again All Music
Mdou Moctar Funeral For Justice
This is a band and artist working at their peak, and Funeral for Justice is a career highlight All Music
Hana Vu Romanticism
Replacing the gothic, post-punk vibes for more accessible, mainstream tracks, it’s still a good indie-pop album, but you can’t help but long for slightly less glitter and slightly more grunge Dork
In the constant struggle between hiding emotion and indulging in its depths publicly, Vu satisfyingly finds a way to prioritise reflection and release. Clash
The LA singer-songwriter makes sadness eminently danceable on her sophomore LP Paste Magazine
Setting its heavy heart aside, the album still affects with an emotional roller coaster of musical material, recommended together for a good dance-cry All Music
With Romanticism, Vu exceeds the notable tensions of Public Storage – at once confessional and deflective, self-possessed and dissociative, direct and elusive The Line Of Best Fit
Dua’s place in pop is still a crucial one, as big pop albums become increasingly bloated with tabloid fodder, it’s refreshing to hear one from a superstar that isn’t suffocating under the weight of its own lore Dork
The Lemon Twigs A Dream Is All We Know
It’s a testament to the enduring power of classic songwriting, and further solidifies the one word that could be used to describe this wonderful band: timeless Dork
Rachel Chinouriri What A Devastating Turn Of Events
There’s a stream of light that threads its way throughout the album, something to cling to and eventually be encompassed by Dork
A transformative collection of music that transcends expectations on all fronts Spill Magazine
Brilliant return in every respect Spill Magazine
Jessica Pratt Here In The Pitch
Wandering everywhere, from subtle jazz and bossa nova, to seventies Laurel Canyon sound and elsewhere, wherever she saw her songs fitting in, and they all fit in like a perfect glove Spill Magazine
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
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
Dave We’re All Alone In This Together