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.
Browse specific styles
Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter
Tracks the critics are loving: read then listen
" Waveforms flows with typical electro flourishes and polyrhythmic beats before climaxing with a stunning multi-harmony coda" music OMH
Listen on SpotifyListen on grooveshark
" 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
" The Lights cannot fail to put a smile on your face" Fake DIY
" The emotional centerpiece of the record is Backwords, a gorgeous, melancholy number. It’s a stunning, poignant track" The Line Of Best Fit
" The memorable point of Something is standout track Ghost Tonight. Polachek's vocal abilities are really something to marvel at" BPM
" Church is still arguably the best thing they’ve done ... it would thaw the edges of even the coldest of hearts" music OMH
" Standout track Logos is a deeply nostalgic elegy in which Gabriela’s percussive wizardry really shines through" AU Magazine
The ADM newsletter lets you hear the tracks reviewers are rating as the stand-out songs from the best new albums. Sign up in that box on the top right.
First album for 10 years from the singer best know for her easy listening soul, jazz
6.5
Since Sade so rarely enter the studio together, Soldier Of Love is a rare thing indeed, and one to be treasured Read Review
Print edition only
The Moon And The Sky and the title track offer hushed drama, while Babyfather is almost upbeat Read Review
The qualities that millions of devoted fans enjoy about Sade are placed in new contexts on Soldier of Love... In this first year of a new decade, Sade bravely soldiers on, ever-committed to her artistic vision Read Review
Succinct, masterful and adventurous, "Soldier…" sounds unequivocally like vintage hoop-earring Sade while knocking preconceptions over like ninepins Read Review
Sumptuously melancholy, exquisitely beautiful R&B, perfect for crying on a very expensive sofa Read Review
Sade hasn't changed, and Solider of Love will likely be the year's most relaxing album Read Review
...for the most part, this is an album far too complex to overlook, and an object lesson – as if Sade fans needed one - in the guiltlessness of pleasure Read Review
Yes, Soldier of Love is smooth enough to be the soundtrack to a dinner party but if your guests catch a sharp angle or two from some of these songs, conversation over dessert could be a little tart Read Review
On an album bordering upon ambient in its statuesque stillness, Soldier of Love suffers for the lack of a Sweetest Taboo or Paradise — hits that attest to Sade’s ability to navigate a funkier tempo with joyous aplomb Read Review
Exudes the kind of effortless, whipped-cream pop-and jazz-inflected rhythms that, if they're still around at all, have been wilfully spiked by über- contemporary digital trickery Read Review
Forget genre-lines for a second and you could almost be listening to a female David Sylvian Read Review
Has the usual hallmarks – lushness and understatement, balanced by lyrics of surprising transparency, and few signs of engagement with the rest of the pop world Read Review
...poise has always been Sade's byword, but this time the understated restraint has started to sound too mechanical, the musical equivalent of a sex toy Read Review
Despite a promising start... the album soon lapses into all-too-familiar territory Read Review
...everything here has the emotion polished from it Read Review
Roll over video for more options
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