29 March 2024
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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Latest release of ambient / dream pop from Portland, Oregan artist Liz Harris recorded during the making of 2008's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
7.9
This is music that challenges and provokes. It may require a bit of effort to 'get' Grouper, but it's worth it. And as this record illustrates, even her cast-offs are stunningly good Read Review
Ambience and echos of solitude have rarely sounded so affective. A very special record Read Review
Grouper's conceptual vision and subtle songwriting makes this an immersive and ethereal addition to her impressive catalog Read Review
These songs have a staying power as unassuming yet durable as moss on the side of a stone. They’re just there, doing their thing, at once transient and lingering like a fog that never quite dissipates Read Review
These eleven new tracks of soft-focus oneiric pop are exquisite, the equal of anything on the first album Read Review
When it really hits, as it often does here, the music of Grouper creates a feeling that can only be defined as awe Read Review
Rather than be pulled into the darkness, Harris boldly searches for meaning in this gorgeously reproduced world Read Review
Suitably haunted and becalmed. Print edition only
When her singing does come into focus, as on the title track, it's almost unbearably intimate, but beautifully so Read Review
Avoids the stigma of outtakes releases because it’s an ideal entry point into one of the most distinctive, fascinating musicians of our time Read Review
It is apparent from the start that the album is a valuable piece of work in its own right however and its reclaimed origins should not bring any negative preconceptions Read Review
This is mood music in the best possible sense Read Review
The Man Who Died in His Boat feels immediately of its time, a period we know to be completely unique Read Review
It envelopes you softly, despite between wholly inscrutable Read Review
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Grouper: The Man Who Died In His Boat
The Black Crowes Happiness Bastards
The Robinson brothers’ greatest successes have been with the Black Crowes. Perhaps that’s why they agreed to reunite for this album, finally (but no doubt grudgingly) admitting that they do their best work when they’re playing together Spectrum Culture
Four Tet Three
Small soundscapes grow and expand without dominating Hebden’s aural trademarks Spectrum Culture
Adrianne Lenker Bright Future
A deceptively quiet solo outing from the Big Thief singer carries a vibrant emotional impact Spectrum Culture
Jlin Akoma
On Akoma, all bets are off. Jlin pulls inspiration from everywhere, and even though the source material couldn’t be further from each other, they all meld together under her idiosyncratic eye Spectrum Culture
The Staves All Now
Returning with only two of the three sisters, they feature a sound threatening to eat them whole Spectrum Culture
Life-affirming songs from Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor The Irish Times
The beginning of a new chapter for the reconfigured duo centres on gentle, wistful folk pop with an emphasis on harmonies musicOMH
The Staves have shown they’re happy to branch out into more indie-rock territory which sits well alongside their folk roots Clash
Tyla Tyla
TYLA will remain as the expertly crafted record that allowed amapiano a moment to shine before new audiences Beats Per Minute
TYLA’s debut album taps into the emerging energies of spring to produce one of 2024’s most insistent projects. The world is hers Clash
The South African singer follows the success of "Water" with a sweet full-length statement Rolling Stone
There are plenty of savvy, intriguing ideas on this self-titled debut that show off the South African artist's range NME
TYLA is turned up to 11 – there is little emotional or energetic dynamism on the album, but every song is club-ready, danceable and infectious The Line Of Best Fit
Julia Holter Something in the Room She Moves
The LA musician's latest processes difficult life changes while juggling them with gratitude for new beginnings, but does so in a manner that mirrors how these conflicts really feel, creating something evocative and challenging even in its more muted turns Paste Magazine
Elbow Audio Vertigo
Guy Garvey and company return with renewed energy, a punchier attack and infectious grooves on Elbow’s tenth studio album, Audio Vertigo PopMatters
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Dave We’re All Alone In This Together