David Bowie's new album 'The Next Day' has already received rave reviews ahead of its release.

The musician's 24th studio record - which he pieced together in New York over two years with the help of producer Tony Visconti - has attracted praise from numerous critics and many consider the new material to be his best work in years.

BBC's Jude Clarke has commented on the unique sound David brings in his new songs and describes them as ''bold and creative''.

He writes: ''With the opacity and lack of easy answers that you would hope for from this most stylish and creative of artists, this is a triumphant, almost defiant, return. Innovative, dark, bold and creative, it's an album only David Bowie could make.''

The Evening Standard newspaper's David Smyth also praises the veteran musician, enthusing: ''Standards on 'The Next Day's 14 tracks (with three forgettable extras on a deluxe edition) are exceptionally high. A cover that blithely slaps a white box onto the classic 'Heroes' album sleeve confidently invites comparison with his finest work.''

The Telegraph newspaper's Neil McCormick describes the musician's tracks as ''beautiful'' and appreciates the message David has passed on through his lyrics.

He gushes: ''It is an enormous pleasure to report that the new David Bowie album is an absolute wonder: urgent, sharp-edged, bold, beautiful and baffling, an intellectually stimulating, emotionally charged, musically jagged, electric bolt through his own mythos and the mixed-up, celebrity-obsessed, war-torn world of the 21st century.''

'The Next Day' is available for purchase from March 11.