11 July 2025
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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The Danish singer-songwriter's third album sees her break away from the piano and move towards a variety of new keyboard-based instruments
7.5
Her most ambitious work to date, both conceptually and instrumentally Read Review
Dares us to explore what being a glass citizen does to us emotionally and creatively, whilst also offering us a means of escape through songs where there are spaces for our subjectivity to disappear, at least for a while Read Review
The singer songwriter has clearly challenged her musical background and the result is a quite extraordinary and enchanting composition Read Review
Agnes Obel’s third album finds her a long way away from the sweet Tori Amos-style pop that adorned her first album Read Review
Hauntingly contemplative and sticks with you like an unbidden mantra Read Review
An opaque and quietly intense missive. Print edition only
A thing of quiet wonder. Print edition only
There isn't a single moment on the quietly stunning Citizen of Glass that doesn't feel authentic Read Review
This is a haunting listen and one that will provide suitable company as the long winter nights start to draw in Read Review
The downside to her whispery and quiet textures is that they must be heard in the right context because as the album wears on they tend to fade into the background and feel soporific. Yet when focused on with special attention and intellectual appreciation they can be mesmerising Read Review
Maintaining her distinctive elegant mood, Obel’s music here is more concrete than in her previous works, making an album that’s both a compelling and charming listen Read Review
New instrumental timbres lend fresh flavour to the songs Read Review
Calm minimalism, chiming instruments and pure singing give other tracks a twinkling sheen, a little too glassy and smooth to really grip but enticing enough Read Review
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Agnes Obel: Citizen of Glass
Wet Leg moisturizer
After winning multiple Grammys and Brits, the Isle of Wight band explore love and sexuality on their second LP – but there’s still room for some barbed put-downs The Guardian
Wet Leg’s balance of danger and relaxation pays off in this turbulently fun listen. Excitingly crafted and dangerously sharp, moisturizer is the sound of someone rolling their eyes at how lovesick they’ve become, then shrugging before seeing how far it’ll take them Northern Transmissions
Gwenno Utopia
Utopia is different from her previous work not just because of the language shift, but because of how it was made. Instead of starting electronically, Gwenno composed most of these songs on piano, recording live with her band in her living room. That choice gives Utopia organic warmth. The human touch is evident in how the instruments breathe together Northern Transmissions
Barry Can’t Swim Loner
Another that sounds like it will be blasted from windows of all kinds whenever the sun shines The Arts Desk
On his latest record, Barry Can’t Swim cements himself as a boundary-pushing voice in electronic music, one fluent in mood, movement, and meaningful reflection The Skinny
U.K. indie-rockers party hard and travel fast on their great second album Rolling Stone
Gwenno’s songwriting matures compellingly on Utopia The Line Of Best Fit
Kesha . [Period]
Kesha’s . is a mess of a statement The Line Of Best Fit
Pulp More
Far more than the themes of aging, sex, and loss, Pulp’s More straight-facedly spreads the word of love and it is the start of something new — a rebirth PopMatters
The Scottish producer trades sun-soaked bliss for emotional introspection – without losing the big drops musicOMH
A gorgeous and varied album that will surely soundtrack countless summers, ‘Loner’ is an accessible and creative collection of colour-splattered dance music whose myriad delights feels all the more impressive for the fact that, like all the best parties Clash
Moisturizer is a bold, confident blast fuelled by the security and invincibility of a deep love. Print edition only Uncut
Moisturizer shows, decisively, that while the metal gauntlets might be very much on, creatively, Wet leg's gloves are off. Print edition only Mojo
A reflective journey through memory and identity from an artist who proves that her music knows no boundaries, linguistic or otherwise musicOMH
Tinged with a sense of growth and resilience, Utopia is a work that spans 25 years. That surely deserves a celebration The Quietus
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
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
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