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7 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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New

Mdou MoctarTears Of Injustice

"No less powerful than the originals" (8/10 - Rolling Stone). "If Funeral For Justice was an eruption, here is its ghost, an echo of the same songs, reimagined in a raw, stripped-down form" (10/10 - musicOMH)

New

Andy BellPinball Wanderer

"The essence that Bell distills is one of happy exploration, indeed wandering from one creative idea to the next with very little second guessing or restraint" (8/10 - All Music). "A bewitching album" (9/10 - Uncut)

New

BdrmmMicrotonic

"A deep love for dance music and invigorating writing infuses the band’s third record with an incredible vitality" (10/10 - NME). "A eureka moment for bdrmm" (8/10 - Clash)

Highest Recent Ratings

Albums to watch

John GlacierLike A Ribbon

"A captivating honest offering from a generational artist" (9/10 - Dork). "On one of the most accomplished debuts of recent times" (9/10 - musicOMH). "You’ll be repeating it again and again" (10/10 - The Guardian)

Sharon Van EttenSharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

"Songs which are anthemic in feel and universal in their lyricism" (10/10 - DIY). "It’s a bold step that suggests even bigger, better things to come" (8/10 - Dork)

Manic Street PreachersCritical Thinking

"It couldn’t be anyone else making this record in 2025" (8/10 - Under the Radar). "The Welsh rockers’ 15th album finds them in thought-provoking mood" (8/10 - The Guardian)

MogwaiThe Bad Fire

"The Bad Fire proves this legendary group can still produce moving, intelligent and vital work" (10/10 - The Skinny). "Some of the most euphoric music they’ve made in a while" (8/10 - DIY)

Saint EtienneThe Night

"Truly beautiful and moving ambient pop mini-triumph that's sad, nostalgic, and elegiac" (9/10 - All Music). "Conjures images of a city just before dawn rises" (7/10 - musicOMH)

Father John MistyMahashmashana

"Unequivocally stunning" (10/10 -The Arts Desk). "Striking a compelling balance between the epic and the intimate" (9/10 - DIY). "One of his finest albums" (9/10 - musicOMH)

Michael KiwanukaSmall Changes

"A boundless effort that, while revelling in its musical referents stands tall, ceaselessly, beside them" (10/10 - The Skinny). "It's a record built to last" (8/10 - Record Collector)

THE CHART: THE TOP RATED NEW ALBUMS

The ADM rating is a weighted average from our survey of more than 50 sources , taking into account the number of reviews

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7.3

Panda Bear

Sinister Grift

Seventh solo album from Animal Collective founding member Noah Lennox

Added: 26/02/2025
7.2

Rizzle Kicks

Competition is for Losers

Third release of urban pop and hip hop from the Brighton duo, graduates of the Brit School

Added: 19/02/2025
7.2

MIKE

Showbiz!

Eighth full-length release from Brooklyn rapper Michael Jordan Bonema featuring guest appearances from 454, duendita and Venna

Added: 04/02/2025
7.2

Sam Amidon

Salt River

Eighth full-length release from the Vermont-born singer-songwriter featuring contributions from saxophonist and producer Sam Gendel

Added: 27/01/2025
7.1

Maribou State

Hallucinating Love

Third album from English electro duo Chris Davids and Liam Ivory

Added: 31/01/2025
7.1

Darkside

Nothing

Third full-length album from ambient producer Nicolas Jaar and jazz guitarist Dave Harrington

Added: 28/02/2025
7.0

Mandrake Handshake

Earth-Sized Worlds

Debut album from the art-pop Oxford-based band

Added: 21/02/2025
6.9

Larkin Poe

Bloom

Seventh album from the Georgia roots rock band led by Rebecca and Megan Lovell

Added: 30/01/2025
6.9

Biig Piig

11:11

Debut full-length album from the London-based Irish dance-pop artist Jessica Smyth who switches between English and Spanish

Added: 07/02/2025
6.6

The Weeknd

Hurry Up Tomorrow

Sixth full-length album from the Canadian alternative R&B singer-songwriter featuring guest appearances from Justice, Anitta, Travis Scott, Florence and the Machine, Future, Playboi Carti, Giorgio Moroder and Lana Del Rey

Added: 01/02/2025
6.6

The Wombats

Oh! The Ocean

Sixth full-length album from the indie rock trio formed in Liverpool was recorded in Los Angeles with producer John Congleton

Added: 14/02/2025
6.6

Olly Alexander

Polari

Debut full-length solo album from the Years & Years singer produced with Danny L Harle

Added: 09/02/2025
6.6

Tate McRae

So Close To What

Third album from the Canadian pop singer featuring guest appearances from Flo Milli and The Kid LAROI

Added: 24/02/2025
6.5

Circa Waves

Death & Love Pt.1

Sixth album from the Liverpool indie rock quartet

Added: 10/02/2025

Latest Reviews

Hamilton Leithauser This Side of the Island

It’s boldly powerful rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s beautiful—severing our psyche from the worries of the future with a rapt assegai of the present in full pomp Far Out

Hamilton Leithauser This Side of the Island

Features some incredibly compelling tracks and his most sophisticated instrumentation to date PopMatters

Hamilton Leithauser This Side of the Island

Sharp, charming love songs from The Walkmen’s front man, co-produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner musicOMH

More reviews

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Fresh stuff

Rarely Do I Dream by Youth Lagoon

"This is a record you won’t forget in a hurry" (8/10 - Far Out). "The album represents a more mature development of Powers’ vision" (8.3/10 - Beats Per Minute). "Vital and exciting" (8.5/10 - Under The Radar)

Sam FenderPeople Watching
"Every song on People Watching is carefully crafted to remain with the listener" (10/10 - The Skinny). "Sam Fender is no longer just a vital voice in UK rock; he’s perhaps the most essential one" (10/10 - Dork)

Patterson HoodExploding Trees & Airplane Screams
"The album contains some of Hood’s most impressive and freshest work in years" (8/10 - Slant Magazine). "It's a pleasure to hear him challenge himself with such impressive results" (8/10 - All Music)

HorsegirlPhonetics On And On
"A quantum leap, full of poignant restraint and lyrical clarity" (10/10 - The Guardian). "Coming early in the year, this one’s scruffy charm feels like it will age particularly well" (8/10 - Under The Radar)

SquidCowards
"Squid graduate the post-punk revival with an exceptional record" (10/10 - The Skinny). "The five-piece’s experimental third effort reveals more of itself with each enchanting listen" (8/10 - musicOMH)

Bonnie ‘Prince’ BillyThe Purple Bird
"Warm, textured and political, Oldham’s second “Nashville record” is even better his the first" (8/10 - Spectrum Culture). "Another beautifully crafted slice of Americana" (8/10 - musicOMH)

The WeekndHurry Up Tomorrow
"A fitting and astonishingly ambitious final score for his brooding alter ego" (10/10 - The Independent). "Structurally intricate and dazzlingly effective" (9/10 - Clash)

Anna B SavageYou And I Are Earth
"On an album of lush arrangements and vivid emotions, Anna B. Savage gets in the mood for love" (8/10 - Spectrum Culture). "Her best album yet" (8/10 - musicOMH)

FKA TwigsEusexua
"So clearly the work of a fully-realized creative that it would be a victory lap if it did not break so much new ground" (9/10 - Beats Per Minute). "FKA twigs bizarre world-building masterclass" (8/10 - TLoBF)

All-time top 10

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.

See full list