23 October 2017
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.
Browse specific styles
Fifth album of alt.rock from the Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Nick Talbot
7.0
His songs initially appear to be gentle, rueful folk ballads on cursory listen but a decent pair of headphones reveals deep pools of shimmering reverb and a submarine world of echo Read Review
Gravenhurst's most solid and unsettling work to date Read Review
An exquisite, unexpected gem. Print edition only
Talbot’s created a uniquely potent blend of icy chill and soothing balm, and with it that rarest of things: totally cliché-dodging songwriting Read Review
It adds up to a beautifully haunting set, and the sense that Talbot is surely among music's best-kept secrets Read Review
Superficially unassuming, taken as a whole it’s really a bold, consistent collection Read Review
His best work since ‘Black Holes In The Sand’ Read Review
This is folk music going into unknown territory, braving dangers, making new footprints, and, in the process, changing into something else entirely Read Review
A melancholy beauty predominates. Print edition only
The mellotrons, optigans, and synthesizers employed here hang like a silvery mist atop the cyclical fingerpicking that makes up the majority of the album, which either soothes or lulls, depending on your predilection for such softness Read Review
A memory-haunted journey through the dead voices and deep narratives of Englands lost. Print edition only
Much of this record plays like a tribute to ’90s miserabilists Red House Painters, all phantom-like reverb over misleadingly comforting folk tropes Read Review
A reminder of just how great Gravenhurst can be when they’re on top of their game, which they are here more often than not Read Review
Ignorable background music and the lowest point of the Gravenhurst discography thus far Read Review
Roll over video for more options
Gravenhurst: The Ghost In Daylight
And So I Watch You From Afar The Endless Shimmering
ASIWYFA haven’t reinvented the wheel with this album, but it’s a worthy addition to an increasingly accomplished body of work The Skinny
The sense of optimism is infectious, and even with plenty of stiff competition for the title, ‘The Endless Shimmering’ might be the year’s most exhilarating post-rock album DIY
The Endless Shimmering displays ASIWYFA's unrelenting optimism, and demonstrates their mastery of their singular brand of math-grunge All Music
A formidable display of power The Irish Times
Jessie Ware Glasshouse
A mixed-bag reminder that Ware's best songs are the ones that only she can sing Consequence Of Sound
A captivating voice struggles to overcome a surprisingly flat collection The Arts Desk
Mature and classy The 405
She knows her niche inside out DIY
Sam, an acoustic duet with Ed Sheeran about motherhood and meeting Mr Right, is a little saccharine while Stay Awake is as beige as a pasta sandwich Evening Standard
Delicate, soul-baring songs of love The Irish Times
Smooth soul, ramped up when the diva lets loose The Guardian
Kllo Backwater
A fantastic debut album from a duo who have prioritized their sound over chart baiting success PopMatters
Lam (the electronics and production side of Kllo) has kept the spirit of the '90s by filling these songs with space The Line Of Best Fit
A mature, rich effort that's likely to see Kllo continue on their ascent Exclaim
Airy vocals and 2-step beats seem at odds on paper, but at times work impressively for KLLO The Music
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past eight years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker
Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me