8 November 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-age / ambient synthesizer experiments on the latest from the Cleveland-based drone / noise trio
8.0
Emeralds are continuing to challenge themselves, and their listeners with new sounds, and new ideas. In that respect, perhaps Editions Mego is the perfect place for this wonderful release Read Review
Emeralds has made it to the big leagues of the experimental-music scene. The quality of the music contained within proves the band is more than worthy Read Review
A certifiable boon for all somnambulant bliss-seekers; swathed in sheer luminescent pools of joyous, amorphous analogue and crowned by diaphanous shards of brightly lit neon nimbus Read Review
The way they set loops against loops, with super-fast pinwheeling oscillations buzzing out of control on top, turns their tracks into perpetual motion machines, gathering incredible force as layers accrue Read Review
Disarmingly beautiful. Pastoral melodies gurgle from orderly banks of synths. Print edition only
Opening track "Candy Shoppe" is without a doubt the most instantly accessible song Emeralds have ever recorded, bringing to mind early Kraftwerk Read Review
All of it occupies a slightly uneasy borderland between ambient music and avant-garde experimentation, and all of it is well worth hearing Read Review
A single entity to get lost in, a refuge where everything is warm and cushioned and any concerns are blown away like tiny fragments of guitar within the gale force of ‘Summerdata’ Read Review
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Emeralds: Does it Look Like I'm Here?
Rosalía Lux
Orchestral pop worthy of an orchestra Consequence Of Sound
Swerves into yet another new lane, bringing together operatics, orchestral movements and buzzing electronics NME
Danny Brown Stardust
The Detroit visionary revels in hyperpop, club, and confession for a messy, euphoric reset that only he could pull off NME
What lingers isn’t the guest list or the language tally. It’s authority. A singer at full stretch without strain. A writer and arranger who knows when to hold and when to let go Dork
Mavis Staples Sad And Beautiful World
A vibrant mix of gospel, blues, country, soul, and rock, this is roots music that speaks to the present with compassionate, life-affirming power. It's yet another artistic triumph for the Black American music and Civil Rights icon All Music
Hatchie Liquorice
Filled with highs, lows, and surprises, Liquorice eloquently expresses young love's volatility - and makes for Hatchie's most consistent music since Keepsake All Music
Sorry COSPLAY
Dressed to impress. Print edition only Record Collector
Asha Lorenz's dreamy, deceptively casual vocals soften the sharp edges throughout and help foster an overall coherence even amid Cosplay's outbreaks of giddy chaos. Print edition only Uncut
After the insular mood of Quaranta, with its themes of addiction and depression, it’s refreshing to hear Brown having unabashed neon-lit fun The Quietus
The Detroit rapper feared his music would get dull after he went sober, but no-one could be bored by this guest-stuffed, chaotically swaggering new album The Guardian
Sobriety may have taken a long time to achieve, but it’s strapped a rocket to this album without sacrificing any of the glorious weirdness that always made him such a compelling figure Dork
His ambition remains undimmed as he opens this new chapter DIY
A rejuvenated, feature-packed return to form for one of the most innovative rappers around The Skinny
The album finds the Detroit rapper discovering a new lust for life Slant Magazine
Danny Brown looks and sounds better today than ever before, and his latest offering is a testament to his restored health and balance. Don’t forget he’s been in the game for over two decades at this point, yet you’d never guess it from listening to his music Clash
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
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree