8 February 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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Fourth solo album from the Houston rapper featuring guest appearances from Bon Iver, Sampha, Drake, Playboi Carti, Beyoncé, 21 Savage, the Weeknd, Yung Lean, Young Thug, James Blake, Kid Cudi, Bad Bunny, Future and SZA
6.2
UTOPIA sees Scott stay true to his style, his preferences, and his principles, going against the grain of the tendencies in the viral-hungry world that is 2023 ra Read Review
Lead single ‘K-POP’ remains a titanic moment, but its immediacy is perhaps a misnomer on a record dominated by misdirection, about-turns, and sudden revelations Read Review
The album operates less as a cohesive body of work and more as a series of show-stopping set pieces Read Review
The Houston rapper's first album since 2018 teases a brave new sonic world, but has little to say about what might happen if we get there Read Review
In an attempt to give the world a true blockbuster rap album, the Houston rapper delivers a shiny, empty spectacle loaded with pop superstars who rarely make an impact Read Review
The reality is that while Scott is a masterful curator, he’s just an OK rapper. Those two realities are discordant for too many moments on Utopia Read Review
Returning with a long-awaited fourth album in the wake of the Astroworld disaster, Scott’s rhyming isn’t strong enough to distinguish him from his A-list guests Read Review
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Inhaler Open Wide
Catchier, more stirring than ever, Inhaler have done it again. Only this time they achieve with a new-found trust in their guts, it makes this work stronger. A magnificent move forward Clash
Sharon Van Etten Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Leading from the front and with a new musical approach, here is a demonstration of how the camaraderie of a band can revitalize musicOMH
The singer fills her stormy seventh album—billed as a collaborative effort with her bandmates—with post-punk motifs and reflections on clinging to love amid apocalyptic upheaval Pitchfork
FKA Twigs Eusexua
FKA Twigs’ Eusexua is a conceptual masterpiece that speaks to the heart and the head, the spirit and the body. These things are not separate from each other PopMatters
Manic Street Preachers Critical Thinking
It’s an album of clearly defined verses and middle eights, of song title hooks, and singalong guitar melodies following singalong vocal melodies. The way these songs orbit then arrive at choruses have a kind of gravitational inevitability to them The Quietus
From the enveloping and moody opening tracks to the eclectic midsection, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory stands out for both its depth and breadth Under The Radar
Van Etten changed things up, eschewing her identity as a singer/songwriter and forming a new band, the Attachment Theory, to infuse her songs with a new life and perspective Spectrum Culture
Squid Cowards
Their third studio album is a collection of vignettes about cult leaders, sociopaths and cannibals NME
The four-piece continue to bend rock & roll into new shapes on this festival-ready record NME
Cowards is the ideal album that a band in Squid’s position would put out: one that builds on the ideas that defined in their first two albums, but doesn’t stay comfortable in what they know best Paste Magazine
Open Wide stands out as the group’s most mature body of work. Leaning into the indie-pop sound worked in the band’s favour as they created memorable songs that are both uplifting and catchy Northern Transmissions
Heartworms Glutton For Punishment
For a debut, it’s staggering. It’s mature way beyond her years and astonishingly built, it’s a true testament to her power as a singer, songwriter, musician and her dedication to her own vision and only that Far Out
Debut album that firmly places Heartworms in a league of her own, leaving enough room for her passion and talent to grow as the project evolves Dork
There’s an intrigue which lies in the way these are threaded together and you can hear the many musical influences at work which create a distinctive and well-crafted album The Quietus
Could Glutton For Punishment have been more strategically curated? Perhaps, but this is an ambitious act. And sometimes you need to be commended for what you attempt as much as for what you achieve Beats Per Minute
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