19 May 2013
Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 publications 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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Third album from the Edinburgh indie folk band fronted by singer-songwriter Neil Pennycook
7.5
Most of the tracks are slow to middling in pace, and there’s less to really get the blood up. It’s a minor gripe however for what is an exceptional follow-up to a truly singular creation Read Review
This is the strongest set of songs the band has offered up to date Read Review
Neil Pennycook sounds like a man with more than a few stories to tell Read Review
Some may find the Scottish lament thing a little full on. For me, it remains sufficiently muted to not go over the top , and while I’ll admit to being a sucker for minor piano chords over a seaweed string of banjo, the crack in the voice seals the deal Read Review
Some of Meursault's lo-fi essence might have been shed, but the sparse arrangements of songs like Hole or the quite beautiful (but heartbreaking) Mamie benefit greatly from increased clarity Read Review
It's far from an instant classic but, given time, it latches onto your world. You won't send it away Read Review
Although there is charm and panache in the relatively lo-fi first two albums, here the songs really do benefit from the studio Read Review
It’s hard not to see this as a successful sideways step for Meursault – their move towards a more ‘natural’ sound feels, well, natural for them Read Review
Neil Pennycook's folktronica outfit move folkwards. Print edition only
The album's epicentre is Dearly Distracted, seven minutes of escalating smoulder and lyrical bile with a guitar coda that would do Crazy Horse proud. Print edition only
Meursault operate where strident folk-rock meets etiolated grunge and ambient electronica, a blend perfectly measured for the melancholy broadsides of Something For The Weakened Read Review
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Meursault: Something For The Weakened
Pistol Annies Annie Up
If Annie Up doesn't quite break the country genre's familiar format, it's a hell of a lot of fun Slant Magazine
A pretty tasty serving of grits and sass Spin
A record that feels in every sense like a thoroughly integrated effort; the work of a group, not three individuals All Music
Their hearts are in every line and note Paste Magazine
The lyrics are carefully written and thoughtfully sung; the arrangements share similar qualities, with settings that suit the songs and brief solos that come in and echo the song’s emotions in a way that feels perfect Pop Matters
Country's new generation of strong female voices is on a roll in 2013 – and Pistol Annies remain at its forefront The Guardian
There may be better bands than Pistol Annies, but what band is more of a hoot? Rolling Stone
Wampire Curiosity
Their songs have a sharpness to them that makes them sparkle through the lysergic fug. Print edition only Q
Laura Marling Once I Was An Eagle
Once I was An Eagle is entirely Laura Marling's trip - beautiful, heartfelt, searching, sublime - and thrillingly open-ended. Print edition only Q
Var No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers
Something serene, tender even. Print edition only Uncut
Recalls Joni Mitchell's landmark Blue in the way she ruthlessly dissects her love life, hunting for emotional satisfaction. Print edition only Uncut
Sarcastic, ironic - and occasionally infuriating. Print edition only Mojo
It's the sweet sound of this unique talent evolving and it's utterly captivating. Print edition only Mojo
Yet another crowning achievement in this young woman's remarkable career to date The Digital Fix
Whether she is softly crooning over a plucked guitar or dabbling with organs and percussion for quietly cacophonous climaxes, Marling is never less than captivating The Irish Times
And the winner is ... no, not Daft Punk but a Californian garage punk
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past four years or so
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
PJ Harvey Let England Shake
My Bloody Valentine mbv
Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Tom Waits Bad As Me
Janelle Monáe The ArchAndroid