1 March 2015
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.
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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
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Gravenhurst: The Ghost In Daylight
Ghostpoet Shedding Skin
One can only hope that an element of musical justice is meted out in the coming months and that Ghostpoet’s immense talent can truly be given the platform it deserves Drowned In Sound
Don't be surprised if Ghostpoet is on Mercury minds once more with this excellent effort Clash
Ghostpoet’s masterpiece DIY
The presence of a live band backing Ejimiwe’s drowsy drawl: it adds an interesting post-rock dimension to his meandering tales of slacker city life. The FT
A strong showing from an always intriguing figure The Irish Times
His conversational tales no longer have an aura of shadow to hide their occasional lack of development The Skinny
Beyond a few piano-led lulls, the new Radiohead-tinged direction sounds compelling and thoughtful The Guardian
Of Montreal Aureate Gloom
Barnes’ absolute refusal to rein in impulses or cut down on excess is what makes his best work exceptional Drowned In Sound
Like a hall of mirrors, it makes for a confusing, disorientating experience: initially exhilarating but ultimately exhausting The Skinny
His words give all the songs an added emotional punch, which helps make Aureate Gloom feel like a necessary addition to the Barnes catalog, even though it probably isn’t Consequence Of Sound
It’s thirteenth time lucky with this Technicolor epic DIY
There are some good ideas on this LP, but it’s nearly impossible to follow the threads that hold them all together Earbuddy
Venturing through various musical landscapes that span from '60s pop to doo-wop to progressive metal, the band stays tight, shifting tones and rhythms effortlessly Exclaim
Purity Ring Another Eternity
You almost wish vocalist Megan James and producer Corin Roddick would donate their productions to chart behemoths in need of an indie crossover single, rather than creating an average alt-pop hybrid themselves The Guardian
James's vocals are as ethereal as ever yet also expand beyond her saccharine-laced tendencies to sultry pop-star tones NOW
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past six years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Deafheaven Sunbather
Sleater-Kinney No Cities To Love
PJ Harvey Let England Shake
My Bloody Valentine mbv
Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
St Vincent St Vincent