1 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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12th album of melancholic pop / folk from Canadian singer-sonwriter
6.6
The Canadian's struggles reflect in the darker moods and pithy lyrics that underpin an otherwise uplifting collection of twangy guitars and lovely pianos Read Review
Surfeit of classy, comforting songs. Print edition only
Every bit as superb as its predecessors. It's what's come to be expected, given Sexsmith's standards Read Review
Enough rich, fertile and well-crafted pop songs here that will, in an ideal world, win Sexsmith a host of new admirers Read Review
Few modern soft-rock troubadours are capable of something as catchy and touching as “Michael And His Dad,” Read Review
Some may find the record a little too lush Read Review
His gentle, simple melodies make for pleasant, unobtrusive listening Read Review
Expertly constructed, sunny-sounding but dark songs. Print edition only
This music has a nice shiny surface. That may be enough for some people. But most people’s tastes run deeper and darker Read Review
Brilliant songs; but they simply remind us of too many who got there first Read Review
Sexsmith sounds more polished and commercially viable than he ever has Read Review
Sexsmith is a talent who shouldn’t be resting on his laurels. It’s time to start exploring that dark side, Ron Read Review
Sexsmith is happiest when whispering soft-centred romance, and songs Heavenly, Miracles and the model ballad Love Shines fit that bill well Read Review
While the album’s polished and pristine, it also feels dated and somewhat lacklustre, any true inspiration placed on hold Read Review
Ron Sexsmith: Long Player Late Bloomer
Loyle Carner hopefully!
The sounds are slightly different here than on previous albums and his tentative sojourn into singing is a success because his voice connects as easily as his rapping does Albumism
Lorde Virgin
Lorde trades in her secrecy and mystique for a tremendously healing, desperately relatable record that cements her mark as her generation’s defining artist Northern Transmissions
On the uncomfortable paths of the 28-year-old’s fourth album, slam-dunk bangers are substituted with reinvention and restraint surrendered through hushed, reflective, and carnal synth-pop vestiges Paste Magazine
The New Zealand pop star chips away to reveal her purest self on her fourth album NME
For Lorde, it's an opportunity to reclaim something she thought she had lost long ago, but has always been within her: her true self Exclaim
Frankie Cosmos Different Talking
Different Talking introduces some novel elements to the Frankie Cosmos sound, but despite that, their core identity remains intact Spectrum Culture
U.S. Girls Scratch It
Musically Scratch It will probably be the least memorable in U.S Girls’ discography and aside from ‘Like James Said’ and ‘Bookends‘, the relatively thrill-less album does sort of fly by unnoticeably, made worse by the weak closing track No Fruit God Is In The TV
Lorde may not break entirely new ground on fourth album Virgin, but its warmth and texture make it consistently compelling and quietly brilliant The Skinny
yeule Evangelic Girl Is A Gun
A sun-drenched pop album — perhaps the pop record of the summer Under The Radar
The album is a hesitant step in the right direction for the singer Slant Magazine
Virgin is Lorde at her best yet as an affective poet and, frustratingly, at her most tamed as a digital sound designer The Line Of Best Fit
The New York band’s sixth LP feels like a scaled-up team effort. The newly expansive sound suits Greta Kline’s hard-won self-knowledge Pitchfork
Lorde’s fourth album returns to the digital, physical sound of Melodrama. While rooted somewhat in her past, it’s a gritty, tender, and often transcendent ode to freedom and transformation Pitchfork
Her fourth album celebrates the messiness of being human – and is also her most compelling and revealing musicOMH
BC Camplight A Sober Conversation
It’s perhaps the finest release of his career from start to finish, and that’s beating some stiff competition Far Out
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