28 January 2015
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 Rhode Island quartet reference their hometown in the title of this, their third alt.country release
6.5
A celebration of music by a band who likes nothing more than to have a good time—and what is more respectable than that? Read Review
Served with such a knowing grin you can't help but love it. Print edition only
Deer Tick’s members act like kids, but Divine Providence is best when they sound like full-grown men Read Review
The group's best album to date Read Review
A set of howling rockers Read Review
Divine Providence is the Deer Tick we’ve always known was behind the chugging, 90 proof country rock Read Review
Setters of trends, they will not be, with this offering. Providers of mindless, chaotic R&R, they most certainly can be Read Review
Overall, their aim to harness their live show appears to be a success, especially on the more rabble-rousing and downright fun bar-side calls to arms that pepper the album Read Review
At their best, Deer Tick deliver a timely reminder that fun doesn’t necessarily have to translate into a shortage of substance Read Review
They may have taken the easy way by leaving depth and emotional subtlety aside, but the brainless night bar rock n’ roll they’re playing on Divine Providence is not something to be ashamed of Read Review
The problem with Divine Providence isn’t that it is bad, because it really isn’t, in fact, I would go as far to say that it is a good album. The problem is that listening to it is like watching the high school dance scene out of Back To The Future Read Review
Divine Providence isn’t about God being amongst us; it’s about being proud of where you came from. So grab a beer or a bottle of Jack (or both) and let Deer Tick entertain you for an hour Read Review
Divine Providence apparently isn't a realm for the faint of heart, but those with the verve to vent their all may find it a welcome retreat Read Review
Self-absorbed and even downright hateful Read Review
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Deer Tick: Divine Providence
Napalm Death Apex Predator – Easy Meat
Retains the hyperactive energy and deadly pacing of its recent predecessors, and as a result, it gives their fans a diverse and devastating listening experience during what is a quintessential, zeitgeist-destroying grindcore album The Quietus
Their traditional characteristics and intellectual concepts, incorporated with new elements and ideas, make Apex Predator - Easy Meat another impressive addition to Napalm Death's spotless catalogue Exclaim
Barney’s bellow is as caustic as ever and when paired with Mitch Harris’ superb riffage remains one of the final words in extremity The Music
Grindcore veterans take on predatory capitalism. Subscription required The Arts Desk
It’s a perverse and challenging listen that makes very few compromises. But the album is also both intensely lyrical and supremely musical Clash
Alasdair Roberts Alasdair Roberts
Rarely more than an exquisitely plucked steel-string guitar and one man's tremulous voice. Print edition only Q
Punch Brothers The Phosphorescent Blues
When an out-and-out bluegrass knees-up surfaces in the second half, it becomes a blessed relief. Print edition only Q
The Dodos Individ
Individ is something of a rebirth. Print edition only Q
Zun Zun Egui Shackles Gift
They sound determined to be like nobody and everybody you have heard. Print edition only Mojo
The band sound happiest when they return to their roots on the exuberant bluegrass workout Boll Weevil The Guardian
The playing and harmonies are breathtaking The Irish Times
The music of The Phosphorescent Blues is captivating The Music
An album filled with disarming, beautiful moments music OMH
Natalie Prass Natalie Prass
Listening to this record, you’d think Prass was one her twelfth release, which makes this debut even more impressive Earbuddy
Meghan Trainor Title
When the alchemy falters you can glimpse the dissonance beneath the sheen: bowdlerised lyrics, self-contradiction, the sense of a neutered, confused adolescence The Music
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past six years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Deafheaven Sunbather
Sleater-Kinney No Cities To Love
PJ Harvey Let England Shake
My Bloody Valentine mbv
Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
St Vincent St Vincent