29 July 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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Collaboration between the Louisville, Kentucky-based post rock singer-songwriter and sludge metal band
7.8
Their combined power is just that: a combination. This isn’t Thou with a new vocalist; these chambers contain an entirely different beast Read Review
Not once does this ever feel forced or that they’ve thrown too much into the mix. Their chambers are full, certainly; let’s hope there’s more in reserve Read Review
Dramatic but melodic tunes that are relatively mellow and laidback one minute and then screaming and visceral the next Read Review
For all of its epic grandiosity, May Our Chambers Be Full only clocks in at a mere 37 minutes, but in doing so leaves a more indelible impression Read Review
The whole LP would be a great release for either artist, but it’s the brilliant convergence of sensibilities that sets it apart in the landscape of alternative metal Read Review
May Our Chambers Be Full is that rarest of things – a body of work which combines but does not try to obscure the strong individual artistic voices of the collaborators Read Review
Sludge metal experimenters Thou and dark folk star Emma Ruth Rundle craft a sound that shows off the best of both parties Read Review
On their collaborative debut, the Louisiana sludge band and the Kentucky songwriter funnel gothic majesty and charred metal into moments of unlikely wonder Read Review
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LUMP Animal
Perhaps the only reason LUMP work so well is because of their push-pull process: a creative speed date less concerned with maintaining a spark, and more about capturing a little bit of magic Loud And Quiet
This intoxicating second album proves that LUMP – Laura Marling and Tunng's Mike Lindsay – are greater than the sum of their parts The Skinny
Overall the album is an earnest investigation of Psychoanalysis with lyrics and vignettes that land a punch. A necessary addition to Laura Marling’s fans collection and an engaging listen for non-fans XS Noize
Sturdy melodies and flushes of beauty help steady LUMP’s off-piste intrigues Record Collector
It takes a few listens for the LP’s diamonds to truly shine, but when they do, they really shine bright DIY
Prince Welcome 2 America
A rather good LP of socially conscious R&B. Print edition only Uncut
There's strength in Welcome 2 America's commitment to the idea of the Classic Prince Album. Print edition only Mojo
Prince’s stock as a recording artist was low in 2010, so it makes weird sense for this work to appear in 2021, getting the posthumous attention it deserves The Guardian
If nothing else, this record is evidence that Prince’s one-of-a-kind genius never really dimmed, even if he sometimes lost sight of how to focus it, or — perhaps more importantly to the quick-take internet area that Prince detested so much — how to package it A.V. Club
Torres Thirstier
Though she’s hardly been a wallflower on previous records, Thirstier is by some distance Scott’s most brazen work yet Loud And Quiet
Torres’s fifth album, Thirstier, straddles the line between art pop and art rock Slant Magazine
Where her indie rock tracks shine in their composition, a step needed to be taken back as she ventured into the sonically unknown The Line Of Best Fit
David Crosby For Free
Ripe age seems to have done little to lessen Crosby’s grip on either great songwriting, singing, or capability to surround himself with some brilliant musical collaborators The Spill Magazine
Emma-Jean Thackray Yellow
As was intended, Yellow is an album of elemental joys and unity. It’s taking what is inherently a complex form of music – and is still highly technical in the hands of these players – and makes it into something for all to enjoy Beats Per Minute
Descendents 9th & Walnut
The highlights here are plenty, from the single “Like the Way I Know” to re-recorded, more punk-sounding versions of “It’s a Hectic World” and “Ride the Wild,” along with the album-closing cover of Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over” Under The Radar
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.
Dave We’re All Alone In This Together
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