30 April 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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Experimental rock collaboration between American avant-garde sludge specialists and Norwegian progressive black metal band, recorded in one evening and worked on for four years
7.4
Those Sunn O))) long-hairs are finally following their bliss out the other side of the abyss they entered via that gaping tunnel on Monoliths & Dimensions' cover, and the able hands and sly smiles of Ulver, Rygg and O'Sullivan greet them with signature erudite adaptability across Terrestrials' note-perfect 35-minute brevity Read Review
Hypnotically cinematic. Print edition only
Extremity for extremity's sake is conspicuous by its absence Read Review
Terrestrials sounds surprisingly cohesive considering the project’s improvised roots and slow development Read Review
Perfectly reflects both Sunn 0)))'s impenetrably emotional dark heart and Ulver's expertly crafted senses of drama and dynamic Read Review
It is a magnificent noise that dares you to turn your stereo up to eleven, turn out all the lights and see if your sanity is still intact at the end Read Review
It's long, languorous and wonderful in its invention, with Ulver lending emotional heft to Sunn O)))'s wall of tone Read Review
Avant-metal titans join forces to terraform a whole new planet of sound. Print edition only
Infinite loops and surging crescendos constitute a psychedelic session more about melancholic beauty than foreboding. Print edition only
This might be the closest you can get to ‘new age’ while remaining a heavily-tattooed riff-worshipper Read Review
Terrestrials bolsters both bands' oeuvres Read Review
What Terrestrials does reveal about Sunn O))) is their amiability, their unique potential to bring the concept of Sunn O))), if not its distinct sound, to an album that really isn’t quite their own Read Review
Altogether different from normality, and further down the path towards minimalist orchestral experimentation than expected Read Review
Ultimately, Terrestrials works as a likable listen, a liminal play concerning the push and pull between dusk and dawn Read Review
A welcome merger between two insuppressable forces Read Review
A trio of absorbing driftworks Read Review
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Sunn O))) & Ulver: Terrestrials
Hovvdy Hovvdy
The Austin duo’s hushed and unassuming double album is a capstone to their career so far, a scrapbook of moments of love and loss from a life well-lived Pitchfork
The pair have fully blossomed from their early DIY start, showcasing an incredible range of indie pop craftsmanship and a grounded centredness built on empathy and understanding Exclaim
If at times you crave for something unhinged across these 19 songs, the sonic equivalent of a psychic break to disrupt the constant temperate mood, you inevitably fall back on Martin and Taylor’s fluid warmth. Their transition into scarred adult terrain still sounds remarkably peaceful Under The Radar
Their previous albums have gently invited you to settle into them, but Hovvdy pulls at you, trying to draw out moments of catharsis or festival-ready melody. If you give into that pull, the results are as endlessly blissful as ever The Line Of Best Fit
The Texas-bred duo’s new double-LP showcases a new spin on their signature light-footed production as well as a heavier subject matter Paste Magazine
Hovvdy houses their most eclectic transitions and banger-certified pop songs Spin
St. Vincent All Born Screaming
Recreating the noises in her head, Annie Clark’s first fully self-produced album ranges across styles and emotions, and is her most direct yet The Observer
Justice Hyperdrama
The French producer duo attempt a return to their roots, but the results are a little too polished The Observer
An album that confidently states Annie Clark as one of the greatest songwriters around while Dork
While the album may lack the tension that once made Justice’s music feel so robust, it’s a valiant effort nonetheless—a sonic escapade that’s equal parts exhilarating and frustrating Northern Transmissions
The iconic, chameleonic rocker’s course-correcting seventh solo album is as harrowing as it is hopeful—and her heaviest yet Paste Magazine
Hyperdrama will ultimately please fans who enjoyed their last two albums, but for anyone else hoping for a more adventurous LP that captures the succinct, edgy and grimy attitude of Cross, you’re going to be left disappointed Sputnik Music (staff)
Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department
Taylor Swift doubles down on heartbreak, wordplay and literary references, making The Tortured Poets Department a far more mature, though perhaps not entirely necessary, installment to her discography Spectrum Culture
Retains their usual slightly gnarly but smartly turned-out vibe The Arts Desk
Clark connected the playfulness of Daddy’s Home with the eclecticism of her early works, finally achieving one of her most unpredictable, disobedient, and wicked works to date God Is In The TV
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
