26 September 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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Album No7 from the palindromic Berlin-based experimental post-rock and electronic instrumentalists
6.5
A warm, hypnotic record from a lovable band of anthropoids with giant electronic hearts Read Review
A masterful lesson in elegance and how to blend minimalism with majesty Read Review
Only one track exceeds four minutes — and pretty much everything is kept within the simple, repetitive riffing structure suggested by their palindromic name Read Review
The music of To Rococo Rot has always had an organic element; Speculation furthers that with a real sense of play and exploration Read Review
Speculation is undoubtedly idiosyncratic and technically brilliant; it’s just a shame that it’s a record that doesn’t ultimately care for your opinion of it Read Review
Rhythm is key throughout the record, with each track building layer upon layer of different sounds to move the listener in vastly different ways Read Review
Don’t be intimidated by the German electronica tag, this is immediate stuff – few tracks outstay their welcome Read Review
Print edition only
... an exposition on repetition and its lulling, hypnotic allure, Speculation is a welcome return after To Rococo Rot's two-plus years away Read Review
As a complete work this is an excellent addition to a moody discography Read Review
As blissful or intimate as To Rococo Rot have gotten throughout their 15 years together, they’ve always been a bit easy to ignore and blocking them out is even easier on this late stage artifact Read Review
This is a looser affair than anything else in the group's catalog, surely due to their escaping Berlin city life to record with Jochen Irmler of Faust in his secluded rural German studio Read Review
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To Rococo Rot: Speculation
Blondshell Violins
This is an artist widening her frame without losing her bite. It’s confident, a little wistful, and often loud in all the right places Northern Transmissions
On her third album, Sabrina Teitelbaum fights to strike a balance between savage beauty and jagged home truths NME
Everything great about Blondshell is present on ‘Violins’, but it feels sharper, more adventurous and more assured then ever before Clash
LA alt-rock singer Blondshell trades plain-speaking lyricism for something more abstract, while Irish rock band Gurriers cut through the noise with their ambitious second album The Independent
While trying to find and assert herself, the song has her imagining walking down the aisle to Beethoven's Für Elise, even though no one, including her, would pick it as a wedding song All Music
An often-delicate inward vision that pairs frustration with beauty DIY
It's in her ability to take the everyday experience and turn it into an epic noise that Violins finds its sweet spot The Line Of Best Fit
It would be unfair to call Violins Blondshell’s finest work to date, given the strength of her previous albums. What’s clear, though, is that it’s every bit as good as what came before Under The Radar
Protomartyr Hotel Usona
The album is more eerie in tone than its predecessors, like a distant alarm sounding, trying to amplify the sounds we cannot hear Northern Transmissions
It’s a bleak listen, sure, but Protomartyr haven’t ever been the comforting types. In fact, they’ve chosen the perfect time to double down on their righteous anger and despair, and if everything were to come to a catastrophic end right now, you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for it Far Out
For newcomers, it's a perfectly moody entry point. Hotel Usona is the sound of a band settling into their own skin, creating a space that's uniquely theirs and generously sharing the key Exclaim
From singer Joe Casey’s handmade album artwork to drummer Alex Leonard’s impish, kinetic inversions of classic post-punk rhythm, the Detroit band crafts an austere, unflinching record as bleak as it is cathartic Paste Magazine
This is not a hotel you'd want to stay at any time soon, but it's a remarkable record to spend time with. Print edition only Uncut
Under dim hotel lights, Casey’s lyricism appears foreboding and alien in a way it never has before The Line Of Best Fit
Ezra Collective Here Because of Hope
Arguably the biggest jazz band in the country return with an album that shows off both their exuberant and more reflective sides musicOMH
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