20 January 2021
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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Debut LP from the Kinshasa, Congo group fusing traditional Congolese rhythms with post punk and electronics
8.6
A gripping mix of excitement, apprehension and sensory overload Read Review
Furiously distorted bricolage of Afro-retro-futurism, soukous and Afrobeat Read Review
With their debut Mbongwana Star have made a really classic record for the ages, and what’s more, one that could shape a whole lot of music to come Read Review
Its superb combination of muscular groove playing with tenderness and longing is winning, and an encapsulation of the flexibility and versatility that makes Mbongwana Star such an exciting project Read Review
At its very best (see the dirty groove of ‘Kala’) this joyous carnival of sound is underpinned with a throbbing electronic heartbeat Read Review
Two forward-looking cosmopolitans (plus friends) craft new directions in urban sound Read Review
Utterly futuristic and profoundly in tune with the space age whilst also giving the distinct impression that it's been built out of rusty materials Read Review
This new incarnation of Ngambali and Nzonza's muse confidently steps outside the sometimes rather cozy confines of 'world' music and into the 21st Century Read Review
There is a menacing attraction here, and Mbongwana Star cleverly balance the sunshine vibes of soukous with the gritty reality of life in a Kinshasa slum Read Review
Fat throbbing beats and clattering Afropop rhythms with an electro-hip-hop vibe. Print edition only
Back to the future, Congolese style Read Review
Stunning collision of West African street funk and European studio craft, exhilarating! Print edition only
Fashioned from the crucible of Kinshasa’s recycle-reuse culture, this is a triumphant piece of alchemy Read Review
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Mbongwana Star: From Kinshasa
Buck Meek Two Saviors
The Big Thief guitarist’s wonderfully relaxed second solo album all but drifts by The Observer
A soothing antidote to literally everything else 2020 has thrown our way DIY
While Meek isn’t fully out of the shadow that Lenker and Big Thief have created, Two Saviors makes a fine argument that he should be taken seriously as his own artist No Ripcord
Two Saviors was finished in the before-times, when dwelling on one’s thoughts wasn’t a given and recording with a band in a New Orleans house (read: being with other people) posed little risk. Yet, Meek’s desire to learn more about himself and his craft — “coming into a new skin” — runs throughout Two Saviors Beats Per Minute
It's a fine country record refracted through a DIY folk-rock lens. Print edition only Uncut
Throughout Two Saviors, Meek's uniquely kindly tenor conveys evocative phrases and settings that likewise stand apart from the crowd All Music
There is certainly a place for Meek outside of Big Thief, he may just be trying a bit too hard here to play the educated hayseed Under The Radar
Pom Poko Cheater
This record is lean as they come, but it dishes out such an unrelenting wavelength of stir-crazy exuberance that its aftertaste is probably best described as fraught Sputnik Music (staff)
Joan Of Arc Tim Melina Theo Bobby
It could have used some help in the sequencing department, but the fact that they never got that help makes this goodbye all the more real and satisfying, and classically Joan of Arc Spectrum Culture
Shame Drunk Tank Pink
Songs have a tendency to morph into storms. It’s turbulent, but also exhilarating. You can not help but feel rejuvenated after listening to it. With this record there’s certainly a good time to be had The Quietus
The south Londoners' second album sees them explore their identities through claustrophobic chaos. Despite the delayed release, the timing is just right NME
The Norwegian four-piece push their exploratory sound into even weirder places than before. However gnarly things get, though, they always bring the party NME
Their tricks are always in service of their songs on Cheater, and their excitement about the possibilities of their music is utterly contagious All Music
Wacky, joyful and crammed with creativity The Irish Times
A blissfully odd record Gigwise
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past eight 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
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Run The Jewels RTJ4