20 December 2011
Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 publications. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.
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Tracks the critics are loving: read then listen
" Standout track Logos is a deeply nostalgic elegy in which Gabriela’s percussive wizardry really shines through" AU Magazine
Listen on SpotifyListen on grooveshark
" Waveforms flows with typical electro flourishes and polyrhythmic beats before climaxing with a stunning multi-harmony coda" music OMH
" The memorable point of Something is standout track Ghost Tonight. Polachek's vocal abilities are really something to marvel at" BPM
" The Lion's Roar is an epic tune ... an inspiring blend of marching drums, swirling woodwinds and heavy-handed piano chords, all reined in by the sisters’ gorgeous harmonies" Paste
" Church is still arguably the best thing they’ve done ... it would thaw the edges of even the coldest of hearts" music OMH
" The emotional centerpiece of the record is Backwords, a gorgeous, melancholy number. It’s a stunning, poignant track" The Line Of Best Fit
" The Lights cannot fail to put a smile on your face" Fake DIY
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Final posthumous release of the acclaimed guitarist teamed with his fellow Malian kora player
8.3
Print edition only
...the chiming of the kora over Ali’s potent guitar with Cuban veteran Orlando Cachaíto López on bass creates a final statement of some perfection Read Review
There is a sense of both immense space and telepathic closeness on this beautiful album, with the superb recording putting the listener right in the middle of the action Read Review
This is a magnificent and poignant farewell Read Review
...this album and its predecessor are worthy and awe-inspiring tributes to the man and the Malian musical traditions for which he and Diabaté were - and continue to be - the strongest and most compelling of standard-bearers Read Review
...this music stands outside genre. It is music of a higher order Read Review
This is a deep, darkly beautiful work. The interplay between these two men is exceedingly rare in any type of music. Ali and Toumani is profound and powerful, with a soft accumulating force, like the individual drips of ice that form a river Read Review
You get the feel of two of the world's greatest musicians in a room together, having a conversation and creating a document that will carry their legacy into the future Read Review
What's truly remarkable about the interplay is the way the two seamlessly bridge the gulf between their cultures. Print edition only
The 11 tracks weave a blinding spell that feels just as familiar to Western ears as African. Print edition only
Aside from being an album of spellbinding beauty ... is also a posthumous valediction to Touré and an affirmation that from Mali there is surely much more to come Read Review
Ali and Toumani doesn't pick up quite where In the Heart of the Moon left off...a more polished affair, with retakes and overdubs Read Review
Whereas that first disc seemed improvised and spontaneous, this is carefully worked out to show the range of Ali's style Read Review
Some reviews have argued that Diabaté, the younger partner, has here stepped out of the shadow of (and reduced his deference to) the guitarist, but to these ears this is the older man’s album Read Review
A lovely monument Read Review
A mix of Touré’s northern traditions and the southern Mandé music of Diabaté Read Review
A fitting tribute to Touré’s and Diabaté’s genius and friendship, and is a beautiful farewel Read Review
Although most tunes follow traditional lines, "Sabu Yerkoy" has a subtle Cuban flavour, while "Be Mankan" is a gorgeous waltz Read Review
...a sequence of ruminative and, to be frank, sometimes repetitive instrumentals, recorded in 2005 and leavened with a vocal or two Read Review
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Sleigh Bells Reign Of Terror
Compromised by sanitised production. But these Bells still rock. Print edition only Uncut
Over-exposure might result in feelings of disorientation and a headache, but that's likely just the way Miller and Krauss want it. Print edition only Mojo
Shearwater Animal Joy
A set of Anglophile songs, bookish and gently melancholic. Print edition only Mojo
The sound of Americana meshing its cogs with the machinery of the world outside its grimed window. Print edition only Uncut
Meiburg’s voice is a thing of rare range and beauty, but it seems the band have yet to settle on the best way to maximise its formidable gifts music OMH
The Ting Tings Sounds From Nowheresville
One-hit wonders no more, White and de Martino now sound prepared for a big pop future. Print edition only Uncut
An insipid assault of dribbly, sub-Billie Piper pop sludge The Fly
Lambchop Mr M
It delivers softly and simply his often complex lyrics. Print edition only Mojo
Death is all around - but this is Lambchop, so the rough stuff comes wrapped in cinnamon. Print edition only Uncut
While Mr. M never comes close to a hoedown, it contains some of the most direct songs to have flown the Lambchop banner The Skinny
Speech Debelle Freedom Of Speech
The odd gauche moments remain, but her plaudits are not undeserved. Print edition only Uncut
From the get-go Freedom Of Speech takes on prisoners. Print edition only Mojo
Absorbing, epic, heartfelt and delicately nuanced – a marvellous album The Skinny
Anyone who wasn’t convinced by her debut is going to find far more to take issue with on Freedom of Speech BBC
Lana Del Rey Born to Die
Overall, this is a beautifully crafted, if limited, album AU Magazine
What's finding favour with bloggers & other review sites
The Roots undun
Drake Take Care
First Aid Kit The Lion's Roar
The Black Keys El Camino
Guided By Voices Let's Go Eat The Factory
Los Campesinos! Hello Sadness
Howler America Give Up
Craig Finn Clear Heart Full Eyes
The much anticipated debut from the NY singer-songwriter has divided the critics, with ratings ranging from a 10 from the Independent on Sunday to a 0 from Tiny Mix Tapes
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past three years or so
Anais Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
PJ Harvey Let England Shake
Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Tom Waits Bad As Me
Janelle Monáe The ArchAndroid
Joanna Newsom Have One On Me
Gillian Welch The Harrow & The Harvest
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion