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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Second album from Seattle indie rock five-piece
5.7
Now that they've rid themselves of their self-sabotaging musical instincts of their first album, they are only just beginning to discover their own voice on their second Read Review
Bands such as the exceptional Sleepy Sun and Seattle's MSHVB are giving up the clever-clever in favour of a rawer, rockier approach Read Review
Floats comfortably in the middle of the indie river, pulling from tributaries all around; pop, folk, Americana, math rock, and metal Read Review
For the four players, it’s a brilliant second record that’s a step in the right direction, but for us, it’s easy to place Messengers as just another fish in a crowded sea Read Review
Grand, pastoral soundscapes, which loosely recall the likes of Pink Floyd Read Review
Though not without ideas of their own, the Seattle five-piece spend too long tugging on the sleeves of pantheon-members like Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse to fulfil their potential Read Review
One can’t help but wonder whether the band is simply trying to emulate all of their favourite bands at once Read Review
There’s a sense of a band playing their heart out, and of untapped potential, but in an over- crowded landscape, they have to work a harder to stand out Read Review
Successfully re-routes their orchestrated rock sound back to the first wave of late 60s progressive bands Read Review
A lot of interesting-sounding songs that have almost nothing to catch your ear Read Review
It's almost like MSHVB are going out of their way to go unnoticed, as there's just so little to grab onto here, in terms of either hooks or texture Read Review
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: Where The Messengers Meet
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