1 March 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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Latest release of ambient / dream pop from Portland, Oregan artist Liz Harris recorded during the making of 2008's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
7.9
This is music that challenges and provokes. It may require a bit of effort to 'get' Grouper, but it's worth it. And as this record illustrates, even her cast-offs are stunningly good Read Review
Ambience and echos of solitude have rarely sounded so affective. A very special record Read Review
Grouper's conceptual vision and subtle songwriting makes this an immersive and ethereal addition to her impressive catalog Read Review
These songs have a staying power as unassuming yet durable as moss on the side of a stone. They’re just there, doing their thing, at once transient and lingering like a fog that never quite dissipates Read Review
These eleven new tracks of soft-focus oneiric pop are exquisite, the equal of anything on the first album Read Review
When it really hits, as it often does here, the music of Grouper creates a feeling that can only be defined as awe Read Review
Rather than be pulled into the darkness, Harris boldly searches for meaning in this gorgeously reproduced world Read Review
Suitably haunted and becalmed. Print edition only
When her singing does come into focus, as on the title track, it's almost unbearably intimate, but beautifully so Read Review
Avoids the stigma of outtakes releases because it’s an ideal entry point into one of the most distinctive, fascinating musicians of our time Read Review
It is apparent from the start that the album is a valuable piece of work in its own right however and its reclaimed origins should not bring any negative preconceptions Read Review
This is mood music in the best possible sense Read Review
The Man Who Died in His Boat feels immediately of its time, a period we know to be completely unique Read Review
It envelopes you softly, despite between wholly inscrutable Read Review
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Grouper: The Man Who Died In His Boat
Bdrmm Microtonic
The quartet’s increasingly electronica-based textures convey a sense of tension and unease on their third album The Guardian
Ichiko Aoba Luminescent Creatures
The cult Japanese singer-songwriter’s new album, inspired by the Ryukyu islands, is like a powerfully soothing sound bath The Guardian
Darkside Nothing
Guided by the idea of wiping the slate clean, Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington’s third album is a raw, surprisingly funky, desperately hopeful response to the chaos of the 2020s Pitchfork
The New York trio have made an album almost bursting with ideas, one that, given the time, you’ll want to live with for months to come musicOMH
The musical quality and innovative ideas at the heart of these works are undeniable, and Darkside have clearly poured a lot of inspiration into the album. Ultimately, though, its lack of cohesion makes for a sluggish listening experience Far Out
Nothing is a refreshing exercise in disorientation, rewarding those willing to let go and get lost in its unpredictable soundscape Northern Transmissions
There's a formlessness to the greater endeavour that ensures it's somehow less than its constituent parts. Still, the likes of subterranean Latin shuffle American Reference possess an invention and mystery that makes this an endlessly fascinating place to get lost. Print edition only Mojo
Darkside opens up on Nothing with a playfully weird set of baroque pop that takes in bluesy '70s skanking and cavernous grooves. Print edition only Uncut
On the third record, DARKSIDE are happy to remain unfixed, bumping between fun and familiar grooves with an element of chaos The Skinny
The songs on Microtonic simply aren't as memorable as the highlights of their debut. It sounds impressive, but it exists in a sort of netherworld between expansive sonic exploration and fully engaging songwriting All Music
A deep love for dance music and invigorating writing infuses the band’s third record with an incredible vitality NME
‘Microtonic’s’ Balearic/rave undercurrents suggest bdrmm would be happy to be faceless, akin to a DJ The Arts Desk
It's a beautiful soundscape to get thoroughly lost in. Print edition only Mojo
There's a powerful, invigorating beauty about their best work yet. Print edition only Record Collector
Boldest of all is the grimy techno pulse and bass thrum of "Lake Disappointment", which pulls off a stylistic switch while maintaining the winningly smoky atmosphere of the album as a whole. Print edition only Uncut
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