16 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 album from the Kent punk duo with Laurie Vincent on guitar and Issac Holman on drums
6.6
It exposes a deep dissatisfaction with modern society, but delivers it in a way that is both playfully cheeky and darkly menacing Read Review
The roar of a generation that knows that no-one is coming to save them Read Review
This is a stonking listen Read Review
Singing drummer Isaac Holman and guitarist Laurie Vincent are so larger-than-life they’re practically cartoon characters Read Review
Slaves are angry at the world, but they have a wry smile at it too. Print edition only
Punk duo offer mesmerising vocal interplay on clattering debut Read Review
Their debut just about lives up to the hype Read Review
This is music without airs or graces, just a good old fashioned reliance on chunky riffs and propulsive drumming Read Review
Anyone looking for punk rock that wears ‘70s influences on its sleeve could do a hell of a lot worse than Slaves Read Review
A solid debut and one most likely coming to a festival stage near you this summer. Buckle up and be satisfied Read Review
Punk energy and scabrous humour win out. Print edition only
The real charm of this record comes in its additional moments of character Read Review
From snot-nosed Sex Pistols-style punk to raw, blustery Black Keys blues, there’s little originality here – but there’s undeniable chemistry Read Review
It’s not so much that Slaves don’t capture the excitement of their live show on record, more that their live show isn’t designed for transfer to a major label album Read Review
This is an album that flatters to deceive Read Review
Peel back the façade, and you’ll find two white dudes parroting phrases and stealing time-tested tricks to sustain the rebel mirage, to cover for the fact that they have no clue what they’re even talking about Read Review
Slaves’ borrowing of punk tropes and real problems to peddle this slickly produced hatefully-contrived gunk is despicable Read Review
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Slaves: Are You Satisfied?
Shame Drunk Tank Pink
Shame have put together a collection of fantastically varied ragers that are bound to blow the roof off whenever we’re allowed back to live gigs The Line Of Best Fit
The London band’s second album combines themes of burnout and ennui with fast rhythms The FT
Sleaford Mods Spare Ribs
Cummings and Covid are two of the subjects touched on by the Nottingham duo as they exhibit an evolving style The FT
The Dirty Nil Fuck Art
Records like this - 35-odd minutes of fist-pumping rock songs from the very top drawer - need to be celebrated and rewarded Punk News
In spite of all that’s going on, the ground that Shame manage to cover, it all hangs together brilliantly. Drunk Tank Pink is a great album, from whatever angle you look at it musicOMH
The London post-punk band’s second album is bigger, louder, and more textured as frontman Charlie Steen anxiously details the strange gap between youth and adulthood Pitchfork
Kacy & Clayton Plastic Bouquet
For the most part, Plastic Bouquet has a much stronger country influence thanks to the involvement of Williams with tracks like ‘Old Fashioned Man’ and ‘I Wonder Why’ making you swear you heard them somewhere before, a very long time ago The Quietus
Drunk Tank Pink is an all-too-often unimaginative album from what’s still a promising group. At best, this sophomore project suggests a band pushing itself in every direction and through every crevice of the genre to see what fits them and their messaging most effectively Beats Per Minute
Viagra Boys Welfare Jazz
Behind the rough exterior is an old soul, notes of romance hiding in every grunt and wail Upset
A high-quality record with not a single mediocre song on the tracklist. Despite the intense deadlines they were under, it sounds in no way rushed, but instead, polished Upset
Yungblud Weird!
A record that knows every trick in the book Upset
The Smashing Pumpkins CYR
The band's raw ambition is back front-and-center Upset
Whether you’re aboard the train or not, Williamson and Fearn don’t seem overly bothered. You’re either with them or you’re aren’t; the wheels keep turning Evening Standard
Bristles with the pent-up aggression of men who aren’t allowed to be loud and shirtless in public any more Evening Standard
The London band went from playing a 350-show stretch to nothing at all – and while tunes and originality are lacking, their subsequent dislocation makes for some thrilling music The Guardian
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