26 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.
Browse specific styles
Fourth solo album of dark baroque pop from Toronto-born Meghan Remy
7.5
This is the sound generated when the two planes of existence rub together, creating almighty sparks Read Review
An unassumingly fascinating record that is both acidic, and acid-stained, but addictive in its entirety Read Review
Remy's greatest gift has always been her unique ability to dismantle and reassemble the pop form in a single song, and Gem is the most vivid document of that gift yet Read Review
The work of an intriguing young artist still shaping a distinctive voice. It’s hard to know if the pleasure is in listening to it, or imagining where she might go next Read Review
Remy has sacrificed the experimental in the interest of attaining a well-rounded sound, and although fans of lo-fi production might not be into it, the result places U.S. Girls in the terrain somewhere between sophisticated pop and dark electronica Read Review
Despite her lo-fi leanings, Remy's music has always given off a warped glamor. But what makes Gem feel like a such step forward (and such a straight-up enjoyable romp) is the way it playfully appropriates the debauched excess of glam rock to achieve its own singular vibe Read Review
GEM is something of a rough one, for with every couple of engaging and captivating song comes a track that feels a little flat – experimental for the sake of experiment’s sake Read Review
The last thing we needed in 2012 is another act paying homage to ’60s pop, but when GEM draws from these influences, it’s only to tear them down, reassemble them, and reanimate the remains Read Review
Roll over video for more options
U.S. Girls: Gem
Laura Marling Once I Was An Eagle
Laura Marling seems to be an unshakeable creature, whose art firmly belongs to herself. Compare her to Bob Dylan all you like, but to issue a bold statement, Marling here proves herself, not as a product, but as an equal This Is Fake DIY
The National Trouble Will Find Me
A layered, resoundingly human work that extends their winning streak without so much as breaking a sweat The Quietus
A work that demands to be taken as a whole, another reminder of the peculiar power of the album form, despite frequent premature declarations of its redundancy The Independent
CocoRosie Tales of a Grass Widow
Easily CocoRosie's most satisfying, fully realised work so far The Independent
Mount Kimbie Cold Spring Fault Less Youth
The pair focus more on song structure on their second album, so their soft-focus compositions don’t fade into the background so much Evening Standard
Her latest record is actually her most lighthearted and joyful Evening Standard
Tribes Wish to Scream
By the end you won't so much wish to scream as laugh out loud. Print edition only Q
Baths Obsidian
An uncommon ear for texture and rhythm. Print edition only Q
Bold and beautiful. Print edition only NME
An improbable shot of charity shop psychedelia. Print edition only Mojo
A neat balance of darkly powerful and whimsical. Print edition only Uncut
Vivid, dreamy songs from harrowing subject matter. Print edition only Q
It's uplifting, triumphant and inquisitive Drowned In Sound
It’s CocoRosie and it’s beautiful God Is In The TV
A bewitching, beautiful album, with no two songs alike Clash
The French duo's 4th album has picked up a good number of 10/10 and 9/10 ratings, but also a handful of 6/10s. Responses range from those who see it as an album that will still be being listened to a decade hence and others who are left thinking "is that it?"
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