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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A cosmic collaboration between two masters of the soundscape.
6.3
Print edition only
Both Floyd aficionados and early-'90s bong jockeys will find points of reference here. Print edition only
Challenging, but also warm, lush and reassuringly ambient. Print edition only
I was a bit nervous that it might miss the mark and disappoint. Happy to say, it does not. It is superb. Read Review
Metallic Spheres is chill-out to a “t” Read Review
What starts off as being a rather dodgy idea on paper does in fact impress and as you get lost in the dreamy keyboards and brilliant guitar lines it's clear this prog collaboration most definitely deserves your attention Read Review
Switch on a lava lamp, plump up some cushions and drift along to their soothing grooves Read Review
The most focused and listenable Orb album in years Read Review
Gilmour's main influence seems to be to hold Patterson's worst excesses in check Read Review
There’s plenty worth exploring beneath Metallic Spheres’ shiny exterior Read Review
As is the case with many big league collaborations, it doesn’t feel like either party brought their best game to the project Read Review
Classic ambient house, dated trip-hop, thundering drum loops, weird dub, even down-home picking Read Review
It’s not so much that either artist’s contribution destroys the work, more that it never really forms in the first place Read Review
It's pleasant enough, recalling the work of Krautrock psych-rock synthesists Harmonia, but somewhat lacking in momentum Read Review
Disappointingly lacking hooks to retain the attention Read Review
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The Orb feat. David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres
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
