20 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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Latest release from Jonathan Meiburg's Austin indie/psych rock band featuring contributions from Leo Abrahams, Laurie Anderson, Mamadou Kouyate, Moctar Kouyate and Doug Wieselman
7.6
Fans and newcomers alike will be entranced by the beauty of Jonathan Meiburg and co's stately creation – assisted by an astonishing supporting cast Read Review
Recorded across four years and three continents, the album draws together an extraordinary cast of collaborators into a single, immersive whole Read Review
It's a record of impressive scope and ambition, but there's still a chip if ice at its heart. Print edition only
Shearwater’s The New World presents a brilliant synthesis of the elements that inspire him, infusing nature into moving, multi-instrumental works of art Read Review
Headphones and considered listening are essential. It’s a cerebral slow-burner in a world of quick dopamine hits Read Review
Shearwater's The New World is made up of sprawling coastal forests and shifting tides, requiring listeners to reassess their surroundings Read Review
A bleakly entrancing set. Print edition only
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Brandon Flowers Thrasher
Even a couple of bafflingly misguided social commentary songs can’t detract from the joys of Flowers’ classically full-throated commitment to the Nashville bit The Guardian
While his words and voice remain smart and wry, whether you enjoy it or not will depend entirely on your liking for, or tolerance of, that genre. Print edition only Record Collector
He's always been a crooner in the tradition of Waylon Jennings, and he's always had Kris Krisfofferson's nose for a tale. Print edition only Mojo
Flowers' take on country hews to the proto-Americana of Springsteen and Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell as he unleashes his chromium pipes and unfettered emotionality on image-rich tales like "Plans", "Tiger's Blood" and the climactic "An American Dream". Print edition only Uncut
Lambchop Punching The Clown
Kurt Wagner continues his exploration of the human voice while navigating a fascinating journey through musical hinterlands musicOMH
Sees Lambchop back in focus, Wagner taking on the big questions and the small details, always aware of those truths that lie just out of reach. Print edition only Mojo
Stella is a modern gospel spiritual, White People is seething and stirring, and The New World Wave is a brilliant return to the narrative style of Lambchop's earliest records. Print edition only Record Collector
Lambchop's 17th album is a thing of spine-tingling hymnal beauty. Print edition only Uncut
Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend
It's the duality of darkness and light that makes Lost Weekend so good Hot Press
Hovvdy Big World
It's a mercurial group of songs indicative of the songwriters' strategy, but the album still finds through lines in its heartfelt songwriting and warm, dreamy textures All Music
Small songs and a step backwards Far Out
Big World may not be the pinnacle of what Hovvdy has to offer, but it delivers something unique the duo had to show for ten years into their career Northern Transmissions
Pop songwriters Charlie Martin and Will Taylor reset the scope of their best-known project, Hovvdy, on an album whose thematic consistency ties together sometimes imaginative, always melodious musical exploration Spectrum Culture
Created after a pivotal move from Austin to Nashville, the duo’s finesse for laid-back vocal melodies that burrow into your brain is clearer and more colorful than ever Paste Magazine
Jungle Sunshine
The London trio’s fifth album is pleasant enough to leave on, but rarely compelling enough to listen to Paste Magazine
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