Albums to watch

Better Dreaming

Tune-Yards

Better Dreaming

Sixth album of indie art-pop from Merrill Garbus working with long-time band-member Nate Brenner

ADM rating[?]

7.3

Label
4AD
UK Release date
16/05/2025
US Release date
16/05/2025
  1. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Ever since 2009’s lo-fi debut Bird-Brains, every Tune-Yards album has offered raw excitement. Better Dreaming does too, and it may just be their most uplifting and inspiring work to boot. Give it a listen – you’ll be dreaming better
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  2. 8.0 |   Uncut

    They're following their "first thought" instincts while allowing space for the full expression of Garbus's mighty soul voice. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Rediscovering what made her such an exciting prospect in the first place, there’s a freshness and exuberance to Merrill Garbus’s sixth outing
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  4. 7.8 |   Paste Magazine

    Given proper respect paid to the marriage of Tune-Yards’ cool-as-hell beats and Merrill Garbus’ sharp lyricism, Better Dreaming may emerge as one of the Oakland duo’s all-time great records after a few years’ passage
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  5. 7.7 |   Spectrum Culture

    Better Dreaming is Tune-Yards at fighting weight, the chaos and clatter of their early years pared down until the noise fits the songs, rather than the other way around
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  6. 7.2 |   Pitchfork

    After the introspection of recent records, Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner’s sixth LP sounds refreshingly unburdened, with a newfound focus on jubilant vocals and danceable beats
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  7. 7.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    Better Dreaming plays like an eccentric dance party to aid movement (physical, emotional, political) in times of stagnancy and helplessness— and everyone is invited
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  8. 7.0 |   Far Out

    The music is still as vibrant as it was before, although some of the introspection is translated into more downcast songs on Better Dreaming
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  9. 7.0 |   God Is In The TV

    A record free of self-critical analysis and restriction
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  10. 6.0 |   Mojo

    These 11 songs brim with images of armed men, noxious air and entitled egotists, intermingled with notions of self-liberation and community solidarity. But the sonics too often seem stuck in Garbus's past. Print edition only


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