29 March 2024
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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Album number eight from the Northumberland folk group featuring self-penned songs and arrangements of traditional material
7.9
This is properly epic stuff. Brass and strings swell the sound, amplifying the emotion already existing in the songs Read Review
Mount The Air is their most ambitious work and places them in the same league as the likes of The Gloaming and the Punch Brothers Read Review
The sisters voices are often gossamer-like but combine into a choral anthem as this records swings and sways its way through their whimsical and charming tales Read Review
All these tracks have folk deep in their roots, but to label them simply as such would only tell half the story Read Review
Reinventing the sound of epic, even by their own standards, this is huge. Print edition only
More than muddy-hemmed revivalists but rooted in a time long gone. Print edition only
The Unthanks are stretching the parameters of their genre with an ambition that’s rarely been heard before Read Review
A floating, swirling, blend of folk, indie-rock, and jazz. Subscription required Read Review
It's the Unthanks' acumen for crafting highly refined overcast ballads that ultimately wins out, and some of us are all the better for it Read Review
Stylish and extremely skilfull, but a bit too much arr and not enough trad Read Review
There are times when Mount The Air does feels like an elaborately illustrated story book (engrossing yet, at times, hard to follow) but this a first class effort and - more often than not - a thing of true beauty Read Review
The band hit form on the gorgeous, unadorned Magpie, while Hawthorn is an elegant, plaintive treatment of Charles Causley’s poem Read Review
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The Unthanks: Mount The Air
Tyla Tyla
TYLA will remain as the expertly crafted record that allowed amapiano a moment to shine before new audiences Beats Per Minute
TYLA’s debut album taps into the emerging energies of spring to produce one of 2024’s most insistent projects. The world is hers Clash
The South African singer follows the success of "Water" with a sweet full-length statement Rolling Stone
There are plenty of savvy, intriguing ideas on this self-titled debut that show off the South African artist's range NME
TYLA is turned up to 11 – there is little emotional or energetic dynamism on the album, but every song is club-ready, danceable and infectious The Line Of Best Fit
Julia Holter Something in the Room She Moves
The LA musician's latest processes difficult life changes while juggling them with gratitude for new beginnings, but does so in a manner that mirrors how these conflicts really feel, creating something evocative and challenging even in its more muted turns Paste Magazine
Elbow Audio Vertigo
Guy Garvey and company return with renewed energy, a punchier attack and infectious grooves on Elbow’s tenth studio album, Audio Vertigo PopMatters
Julia Holter drips her semi-conscious thoughts on the musical canvas to access her artistic sensibility, but she seems a bit unsure of the process PopMatters
Empress Of For Your Consideration
Lorely Rodriguez’s fourth album is a dazzling showcase for her unexpected vocal and production approach as she experiences the peaks and valleys of heated romance Pitchfork
Gossip Real Power
Beth Ditto’s second solo LP turned into a full-fledged Gossip comeback once her bandmates got involved. Rick Rubin captures the carefree vibes of old friends enjoying each other’s company Pitchfork
If her latest is any proof, Rodriguez is finally comfortable with herself – not just as a writer who excels at leaving melodies on your tongue, but as a lover, a dancer, and her own shooting star Clash
Waxahatchee Tigers Blood
With Tigers Blood, Katie Crutchfield has consolidated her position as one of the finest songwriters in modern independent music Beats Per Minute
Elbow are back! Northern Transmissions
On her sixth album, Katie Crutchfield teams up with MJ Lenderman, the Cook brothers and Spencer Tweedy to create hard-won and time-worn brilliance Paste Magazine
Tierra Whack World Wide Whack
The influential but less-than-prolific Philly rapper returns with a spare, casually compelling full length Spectrum Culture
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