26 May 2018
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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Surprise sixth release form the Canadian hardcore group
It is clear that the band entered the studio intending to make an album THEY wanted to make, taking all the elements of what made the band great in the first place, and streamlining it into these 11 songs Read Review
They sound re-energised, likely due to their newfound independence, each track delivered with a blistering pace Read Review
In the words of Doakes from the TV show Dexter, "Surprise motherfucker!" Cancer Bats are back and here to stay Read Review
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Wooden Shjips V
Wooden Shjips’ fifth record, like pretty much all their records, is a pleasant, fun listen, perfect for the summer right around the corner as intended Drowned In Sound
Snow Patrol Wildness
Overall, Wildness is a really great comeback record. There are a few dud tracks in there, especially in the first half of the album, but these are more than compensated for by the excellence of the remainder of the record Drowned In Sound
Bonny Doon Longwave
‘Longwave’ is a gently simple record but one which manages to exert an almost hypnotic pull Clash
Parquet Courts Wide Awake!
A brutally funny, scuzzy and lacking-in-seriousness affair, it truly is one of the most entertaining New York guitar albums of modern times Clash
Lightness of touch is the real revelation here. Print edition only Q
Woozy, melodic and reflective. Print edition only Uncut
Creates a sense of space, both mental and physical, as well as the idea of an alternate perception that is the calling card of West Coast psychedelia. Print edition only Mojo
Isn't a major departure from what fans of the Shjips have come to expect, as the group will seemingly always stick to a surging, hypnotic brand of Krautrock-inspired minimalism All Music
Just a little sharper than Wooden Shjips have sounded before music OMH
Never rises above space rock, making the album feel like any other '60s hippie/psychedelic record Exclaim
An album of hazy intensity, perfect for these times and this summer The Guardian
Chvrches Love Is Dead
Mayberry is one of the more interesting figures in modern pop, so here’s hoping one day they’ll have a bit more substance and bite The Irish Times
One of the most comforting and relatable inclusions in the band's catalog All Music
‘Love Is Dead’ manages to balance hopeful, utopian pop with a darker, gloomier undercurrent NME
Will certainly please the band's ever-expanding fan base while not really moving the needle creatively enough to convince sceptics that their initial opinions were unfounded Exclaim
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past eight years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange
Anaïs Mitchell Hadestown
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker
Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me