Katy Perry’s new album Smile: fun-loving but unoriginal pop
Pop has moved on from the bright-eyed days of 2008, while the Californian singer has not.
ByAlbum reviews
Read all the latest album reviews from the New Statesman here.
The Killers’ “Imploding the Mirage” has a sense of a band scrabbling to find their identity
The group’s sixth studio album has moments that remind you why they have made it this far, but it lacks personality.
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Folklore reveals a more introspective side to Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album is her least radio-friendly work and her least autobiographical. But it is arguably her most…
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How I’m Feeling Now is Charli XCX’s best album yet
Written and released in just five weeks under lockdown, the record manages to be genuinely inventive.
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Waxahatchee’s Saint Cloud is her best album to date
Katie Crutchfield’s mantra-filled fifth album, written following her decision to get sober, has a classic Americana feel which puts her brilliant…
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Miss Anthropocene might just be the album that saves Grimes
After dealing with a heavy dose of criticism for her relationship with Elon Musk, the art-pop musician’s fifth album should remind…
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Nick Cave’s new album Ghosteen has completely floored me. In a good way
This record is the sound of a man whose whole being has been altered, possessed even, by what has happened.
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James Blake finds new joy on his third record, Assume Form
Plus: a new solo record from Ian Brown.
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Sharon Van Etten’s Remind Me Tomorrow is her best work to date
In Van Etten’s new album, life’s mess is powerful and holding it all in your arms is a creative act.
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John Grant’s fourth album, Love is Magic, is a work of musical mood swings
Grant represents a very human set of contradictions. In his songs, horrific experiences are set alongside transcendent ones; cynicism alongside…
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The body takes the stage in Christine and the Queens new record, Chris
Having chopped off that feminine last syllable and most of her hair, “Chris” places the body at the centre of…
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Let’s Eat Grandma’s second album I’m All Ears is a daring, iridescent work
Norwich teenagers Jenny Hollingworth and Rosa Walton have made a strikingly mature record.
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Everything is Love: the joint album from power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z
A surprise album might be a trick we’ve seen from Beyoncé before (twice), but it’s no less thrilling this time…
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St Vincent’s Masseduction is spangled with ethereal moments
After ten years and five albums, Annie Clark’s music only expands in scope and ambition.
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Anna of the North’s Lovers feels like being submerged in cold, clear water
Anna Lotterud’s brand and sound are deeply Norwegian.
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Big audio bounceback: new albums by Blur and The Prodigy reviewed
The Albarn-Coxon concoction sounds surprisingly robust.
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