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
" The emotional centerpiece of the record is Backwords, a gorgeous, melancholy number. It’s a stunning, poignant track" The Line Of Best Fit
Listen on SpotifyListen on grooveshark
" 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 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
" Waveforms flows with typical electro flourishes and polyrhythmic beats before climaxing with a stunning multi-harmony coda" music OMH
" The Lights cannot fail to put a smile on your face" Fake DIY
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Fourth album of experimental jazz from Mercury nominated London five-piece led by drummer Seb Rochford
7.6
Even at their most gesticulating or achingly smooth, their music is vivid – there’s rarely a moment that goes by that doesn’t goad you into thought, persuade you to continue on their journey, to their destination by their mode of transport Read Review
...this is an atmospheric fifty minutes with similarities (in accessible-yet-challenging-scene-darling attitude, if not necessarily aesthetics) to the likes of Animal Collective or Four Tet Read Review
Print edition only
This is 21st century jazz, groovy without being cheesy and edgy without being sinister ... an intriguing and rewarding listening experience Read Review
Regard them as a freely improvising rock band, with strong jazz pedigree and a wide-open horizon when it comes to musical direction and it all makes a lot more sense Read Review
Rochford deliberately minimised the studio preparation, and withheld the music from the band up to the last moment, and Peepers certainly reflects that freshness Read Review
It amounts to the most convincing “post-jazz” album yet Read Review
There's less open space and more long melody. It sounds less studio-made too, as if it has been captured in the field Read Review
It’s often gentle, but can just as easily turn obstreperous, and flirts with different styles in a fascinating way Read Review
Working in a genre with improvisation and emotion it’s lifeblood, ‘Peepers’ mischievous, teasing dynamic, and balance of the bold and the beautiful ensures it, and Polar Bear, walk the line in all the right ways Read Review
Polar Bear are clearly trying new things, ensuring that their brand of jazz-punk remains at the forefront of forward-thinking jazz music with an incessant desire to rebel against current trends Read Review
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Polar Bear: Peepers
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