26 June 2022
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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Multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden's fifth LP, released on Sufjan Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty label
6.9
Shara Worden makes a bid to join the US experimental pop pantheon Read Review
Bold and idiosyncratic art-rock. Print edition only
The subtle yet commanding arrangement of This Is My Hand has certainly announced My Brightest Diamond’s arrival as a genuine force to be reckoned with Read Review
For anyone who's been dying to sand down the edges of St Vincent's angular alt-rock exercises, or wishing that Bat For Lashes might hire a brass section Read Review
A good example of how sometimes less can be more Read Review
She employs marching band drums and horns one minute and then her solo voice the next without ever changing the intensity of the music. The range of volume may change, but the passion never does Read Review
Works on a visceral level, conjuring Worden’s intended image of tribal, fireside collaboration through a rich diversity of texture, detail, and tone Read Review
Worden’s fifth release recalls its predecessor’s lush arrangements but is a much more immediate affair Read Review
These intense songs, sung with a crystalline elasticity, have located the mojo previously absent from My Brightest Diamond’s art Read Review
Quite interesting at times, but rarely compelling Read Review
While This Is My Hand carries the celestial torch held high by My Brightest Diamonds’ previous works, and does so with a discerning eye to continuity, it also doesn’t break any ground Read Review
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My Brightest Diamond: This Is My Hand
MUNA MUNA
A record that doesn’t just thrill, but empowers too, it’s enough to put MUNA firmly amongst the highest echelon of modern pop bands. Quite possibly the album of the year so far Dork
Its musical brightness and self-acceptance are the album’s defining characteristics Loud And Quiet
Arriving at the tail-end of pride month, but at the beginning of Summer, MUNA is the best soundtrack one can find for the next few months. Seemingly destined to join the canon of pop’s great cult-classics (Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion, Robyn’s Body Talk, among them), it’s an album whose legacy should last much longer Beats Per Minute
Transporting us to a different, brighter, louder, prouder, and safer place Gigwise
It’s a perfectly produced summer album that allows desire to drive decisions, but most of all, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun Northern Transmissions
MUNA bring fun and lush arrangements to their self-titled third album Exclaim
After being dropped by their label the three-piece had to regroup – but find a new level of freedom in this liberating era NME
A celebratory expression of queer love that loses none of the trio’s magic DIY
MUNA is all killer no filler The Line Of Best Fit
Soccer Mommy Sometimes, Forever
An album of dense atmospherics and piercing emotional clarity. Print edition only Record Collector
A beautiful return marked by intricate introspection Clash
Hercules & Love Affair In Amber
On In Amber, Butler ventures into new emotional landscapes with passion and an open heart. At times, these feelings are left unanswered, or incomplete; in an album rich with stories, the ending is still unclear Crack
Perfume Genius Ugly Season
Ugly Season is a scenic route to the world’s end that finds hope in bodily beauty, however ravaged Crack
Ultimately, Sometimes, Forever is a portrait of an artist careworn beyond her years “I’m just 22 going on 23/ Already worn down from everything,” she sings on Feel It All the Time Crack
As the shadows deepen on Sophie Allison’s third album, she sees into the lie on the other side of success: You can win, but you still have to live with yourself Pitchfork
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