29 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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Third album of indie psychedelic rock from Los Angeles five-piece
6.1
Alive As You Are is what west-coast rock 'n' roll is supposed to sound like Read Review
A psychedelic record with great affection for the Byrds and the Beatles, but played with the discipline and pithiness of former punks Read Review
This is an album to be held close to your heart and revered as psych-pop scripture Read Review
Print edition only
There is a certain folkish warmth about it which makes it perfectly listenable. It is without doubt a good record, but fans will definitely need to keep an open mind Read Review
A refined strain [of pschedelia] rooted in the sylvan harmonies and cosmic sentiments of West Coast alumni such as The Byrds and Grateful Dead Read Review
Familiarity is both Alive As You Are's strength and its main failing, but there are enough acid-soaked pop hooks of their own to last the summer Read Review
Alive As You Are's sea change is perhaps just a little too severe to fully engage with in one sitting, and despite the band's insistence this record represents a significant step forward, its retrogressive veneer casts something of a bewildering shadow Read Review
With the layers of noise stripped away, only the detached attitude remains, which instead reveals a band that, while technically gifted and reverent to their source material, may not be entirely comfortable with the new skin Read Review
After a supreme early demonstration of pastiche, Alive As You Are's back half reveals a capable pop band writing capable pop songs Read Review
This band needs to recognize that the Summer Of Love is obsolete, and trying to resuscitate a dead scene is an anachronistic pursuit that will only lead to them being discarded like so much unwanted tie-dyes Read Review
This is solid music; no song falls short of this pleasant, sunny mood Read Review
Alive As You Are is a pop album, and a poorly dated one at that. Sounding like a lost tape from the early ‘60s Read Review
Darker My Love: Alive As You Are
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