22 August 2026
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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Second posthumous album from the rapper following his death in February 2020 includes guest appearances from Kanye West, Pusha T, Rick Ross, 21 Savage, Future, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa and Pharrell
5.6
Faith is the ultimate affirmation of Pop Smoke’s musical transcendence Read Review
‘Faith’ succeeds by offering not ony an elegiac portrait of Pop Smoke, but also a vision of what he could have become Read Review
The rapper’s second posthumous album has some dazzling moments, but ultimately feels like business as usual for an audience whose attention may be elsewhere Read Review
Despite poor production choices and lazy song structures, Pop Smoke's energy and solo spurts of brilliance won't allow for this stale posthumous release to tarnish his legacy Read Review
The Canarsie don's raw talent is overshadowed by superfluous guest spots on the second album to be released since his tragic death in 2020 Read Review
Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album sounds like it’s solely designed to generate clicks as a new generation of rap fans continues to be exploited for their streams Read Review
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The Afghan Whigs Soft Control
Soft Control would be a great place to dig in if you’re new to the Afghan Whigs, but it is also another rewarding collection for devotees PopMatters
For those concerned that they’ve lost their guitar-driven swagger, fear not, as Soft Control features some of the band’s most fiery and uplifting material that fuelled classics like 1965 and Gentlemen No Ripcord
The brooding "Duvateen" builds to an epic finale that's testament to a band who've only got better with age. Print edition only Mojo
Can the Whigs sustain the cinematic potency of the three albums released since their return to the studio in 2014, after 16 years away? Spoiler - they can. No caveats. Print edition only Uncut
Westside Cowboy It Goes On
There are multiple moments throughout this album where, if played loud enough, you feel as if you are in the room with them, your head inside the hurricane frenzy that this band is so competent operating within Clash
The Manchester outfit have made a terrific, wildly confident debut album that's crammed with ideas musicOMH
Open Mike Eagle & Kenny Segal DOOMED!
DOOMED! is a wonderful record that draws the very best out of these two singular talents. Vulnerable, laugh-out-loud funny, and occasionally even hopeful, its sharp beats and even sharper couplets make it one of the leading Hip Hop albums of 2026 No Ripcord
Hovvdy Big World
Reflecting candidly on aging, forgiveness, and self-improvement, the indie-pop duo returns with a charming new album that takes the world in stride Pitchfork
Lambchop Punching The Clown
With acoustic guitar and banjo, Lambchop return to their Nashville roots, while the choruses create yet another idiosyncratic background for musings on America PopMatters
Manchester outfit Westside Cowboy release their debut album, performing the same movement throughout to (mostly) irrestible effect The Skinny
On DOOMED!, Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal have found a pocket that keeps you coming back – this is easily up there with one of the best hip-hop releases of the year The Skinny
Laura Veirs Temple Songs
By closing her artistic process off to the people and places around her, Laura Veirs has fully opened herself up to love and, hopefully, creative collaboration once again Spectrum Culture
Doubling down on their initial rough’n’ready brilliance to make good on their potential and then some DIY
What an undeniable rock inferno this British band has unleashed, where even the quiet parts will swallow or split you Paste Magazine
It Goes On is about as fine a record as any debut album of the last 20 years Beats Per Minute
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
Rosalía Lux
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Hayley Williams Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways