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
" Church is still arguably the best thing they’ve done ... it would thaw the edges of even the coldest of hearts" music OMH
Listen on SpotifyListen on grooveshark
" The memorable point of Something is standout track Ghost Tonight. Polachek's vocal abilities are really something to marvel at" BPM
" Waveforms flows with typical electro flourishes and polyrhythmic beats before climaxing with a stunning multi-harmony coda" music OMH
" Standout track Logos is a deeply nostalgic elegy in which Gabriela’s percussive wizardry really shines through" AU Magazine
" The emotional centerpiece of the record is Backwords, a gorgeous, melancholy number. It’s a stunning, poignant track" The Line Of Best Fit
" 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 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.
Debut album from Perth, Australia psych-rock band
7.4
Every song on Innerspeaker can be appreciated as a reflection on the drifting transformations of latter-twentieth-century classic rock, from the Beatles to Bear Quartet Read Review
This is very much an album's album - it sounds best as a piece, where you can get lost in its heady expanse Read Review
Obvious influences like Pink Floyd, Cream are heard throughout Innerspeaker but there are nods to more contemporary bands like Tortoise, High Llamas and Flaming Lips Read Review
Tame Impala display an intuitive feel for psychedelia’s insurgent streak and joy in non-conformity that’s far in excess of their peers Read Review
An album that combines hazy stoner pop, swirling guitartronica and a heavy retro backbeat Read Review
This is melodic psychedelia; and it works as much in 2010 as it did in 1967 Read Review
So far this is the psychedelic record of the year, and it might end up being a whole lot more Read Review
A dreamily enjoyable debut Read Review
A delicious album: groovy, imaginative and whole. Print edition only
When they peak ... the band break through the upper stratosphere. Print edition only
Print edition only
Tame Impala have managed to craft something that will simply engulf you – as long as it’s given half a chance Read Review
Innerspeaker is not so much an album to listen to as one to inhale Read Review
For all its noodly pot dream potential, Innerspeaker is a quite exceptional pop record Read Review
Innerspeaker won't rewrite the history books or reinvent the wheel, but at the same time it serves its purpose as a shining example of the fact that having a nostalgic outlook needn't necessarily be deemed a negative course of action Read Review
There is not one second of originality Read Review
In a maze of riffs, the ability to construct memorable melodies has been completely lost Read Review
Roll over video for more options
Tame Impala: Innerspeaker
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