14 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 album of alternative dance/synth pop from Melbourne, Australia trio
6.8
There is a frisson of surly attitude throughout, and several thrilling moments, such as the punch of the keyboard and drums when This New Technology hones into view, or the gutsy riff of Lara Versus The Savage Pack, comfortably out muscling the likes of Kasabian Read Review
The sound of a band defying expectations and testing their limits, while continuing to evade fitting into any single musical category Read Review
It blows Dystopia out of the water in terms of scope, ambitious sonic terrain and what really feels like importance, which is no easy feat Read Review
Part of what makes the Juggernauts so much fun is their absolute commitment to the hugeness and silliness of their tunes Read Review
This is a pop album at heart and on those terms it excels Read Review
When they keep it simple you realise that this is hugely enjoyable fare so long as you just turn it up and don’t take it too seriously for after all this is music for the body, not the mind Read Review
A floaty space opera, packed full of mind-bending diversions and spangled sights Read Review
Tonally this is an expertly crafted collection, consistency paramount, but catchy motifs are conspicuous by their absence Read Review
What they lack in subtlety, they more than make up for with an ear for a pop hook Read Review
Print edition only
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Midnight Juggernauts: The Crystal Axis
John Carpenter Cathedral
Carpenter has always excelled at the “less is more” approach to music, but it is here in Cathedral that this discipline is used to build something claustrophobic and heavy. It’s not just music that follows the listener; it surrounds them Spill Magazine
John Carpenter’s Cathedral is fantastic listening, mixing what listeners likely love about the horror director’s scores with new sounds. When blending the soundtrack with the graphic novel, it’s a less satisfying experience, though still worth it for Carpenter fans Spectrum Culture
While an intriguing narrative idea that longtime fans will lap up, John Carpenter’s “heavy metal” exercise with his trusty son and godson band can just never shake off a tacky air that robs the album of its Gothic dread or evocative transport Far Out
The closest thing to a heavy metal album the horror master has made sports all his hallmarks – depth, gravitas, riffs that could power an substation, and a strong sense of gathering tension musicOMH
Its still one of the most exhilarating things Carpenter has released. It’s up there with ‘Halloween’, ‘They Live’ ‘Ghosts of Mars’, and ‘The Thing’. Sit down and strap in as the Master of Horror has a journey for you! Clash
If not quite vintage Carpenter, his trademarks - unsettling repeated refrains ("Redemption"), moody bass lines ("Primeval") and dramatic key changes ("Back To Ruins") - extol an unceasing gift for evoking creeping dread. Print edition only Mojo
Some of their tonal subtleties have been sacrificed in the process, but there's no denying the dramatic punch of pieces like "The Ferryman" and the semi-operatic "Elevator Two". Print edition only Uncut
"Lord Of The Underground" is Metallica-grade dirge-rock, while the rolling rhythms of "Revenge" and low-end synths of "Resolution" provide fittingly ballistic, moody climaxes to an auteur-grade album if devilish delights. Print edition only Record Collector
There are some beautiful moments with a vaguely Kusturica-esque sound, some great crunchy Motörhead-esque speed metal riffs, and pieces where you can just imagine people being chased down grungy tunnels by demonic creatures – even if you haven’t read the graphic novel The Quietus
The Durutti Column Renascent
It is yet another brilliant presentation of a master who never got the full recognition he always deserved Beats Per Minute
FLO Therapy At The Club
There are four or five songs here better than anything on their debut. There are also four or five that a firmer hand would have cut, which would have left something leaner, stranger and harder to ignore Beats Per Minute
Overmono Pure Devotion
An album of entirely “Paradise Runner” clones could have done more damage than good. Yet the sense remains that reserves exist, that these songs of Devotion are the end of the beginning Beats Per Minute
Arca XXXXX
XXXXX never feels cluttered. At 47 minutes, it fits comfortably on a single disc, while each individual element blends into the larger flow effortlessly Beats Per Minute
Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend
Co-produced alongside Jack Antonoff and Alex G, the singer-songwriter’s first solo album in six years details falling in love, reckoning with grief, and starting over. It’s her most daring, optimistic record yet Paste Magazine
Where Punisher felt apocalyptic with its closing suite "I Know the End" and a hearty dose of divine timing, Lost Weekend is a transmission from a hero's journey back to herself through a dystopian emotional landscape Exclaim
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