24 March 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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Experimental indie pop/rock (self-termed as doom-wop) on the debut from the supergroup comprising Ryan Kattner (Man Man), Nick Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns) and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse)
6.8
A weird, unforgettable stain on the shirt of indie-rock Read Review
Out Of Love delivers its message with an ironic charm that will warm the heart of even the most critical indie fans Read Review
Being a side project – we may never hear something as good as this again when they part ways Read Review
Kattner and Thornburn beautifully represent their prospective places on the vocal spectrum creating a sweet and sinister sound Read Review
Mister Heavenly approach their AM-radio inspirations with just the right balance of devotion and deviance Read Review
One of this year’s strongest debuts, a complete album with easy hooks and easy charms Read Review
You might be dubious at first, but doom wop is here to stay Read Review
Doom-wop is a funny turn of phrase, not a bonafide genre, but that doesn’t matter here because Out of Love succeeds on its own Read Review
A fun listen, but it doesn’t go much deeper than that Read Review
It's some of Nick Thorburn, Ryan Kattner and Joe Plummer's finest work to date Read Review
It’s a fine wee record about love, its ups and down, pitfalls and peaks Read Review
There’s half a very good album here, the rest is just a few clever musicians having some fun Read Review
Their blend of crooner pop filtered through a garage-rock vapour is likeable, although their slack style could do with refinement in places Read Review
If you can appreciate a band who excel at synthesising favourite sounds into something captivating, you may be in luck Read Review
An only slightly rewarding diversion from Kattner, Thorburn, and Plummer’s day jobs Read Review
The songwriting is going to have to be a lot sharper if Mister Heavenly are to banish suspicions of concept over substance Read Review
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Mister Heavenly: Out Of Love
Ladytron Paradises
Ladytron have produced an album that, from its inception, sought to invoke the same spirit that the band had 25 years ago Far Out
Gorillaz The Mountain
The strongest case in years that Gorillaz can still make records that matter as records Dork
Kim Gordon Play Me
'Play me' doesn’t try to comfort. It tries to provoke, energise and outlast the scroll Dork
The Orielles Only You Left
These songs come from months of demo-hoarding and forensic listening, the band archiving every practice-room spark before lovingly picking through the results Dork
James Blake Trying Times
Blake sounds energised by the room he has carved out for himself Dork
Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
This isn’t an album built like a straight line from hook to hook. It moves in waves, often favouring texture and atmosphere over immediate release Dork
Underscores U
It’s technical excellence as a musical product cannot be overstated. For a pop album to be this busy yet possess a pocket as deep and rich as underscores displays here is simply amazing Sputnik Music (staff)
Indie rock icon Kim Gordon acerbically wrestles with the state of the world over hip-hop and industrial beats on Play Me PopMatters
The former electro-pop enfant terrible swings big on her latest album, compressing all her split personalities and eclectic tastes into a high-gloss, high-stakes gamble to remake pop on her own terms Pitchfork
On U, she finds a clearly-defined, rounded-out identity in her music for the first time, and she delivers the most immediate and the most robust work of her career The Line Of Best Fit
Performing, writing and producing everything herself, April Grey pares back her hyperpop electronics for an LP in thrall to 90s pop-R&B, with songs that big stars would die for The Guardian
April Harper Grey’s latest hits all the beats of a classic pop record — a choreo-primed single, a power ballad, a post-breakup closure anthem — without overstaying its welcome Paste Magazine
A tour-de-force of production chops that cements April Harper Grey as a key auteur in the future of the genre NME
Alexis Taylor Paris In The Spring
Paris in the Spring is a gem of a record which, while never over-reaching its ambition, sparkles with electronic ingenuity as it takes in all seasons of human experience Spectrum Culture
It's a beautiful collection of genre-hopping songs. Print edition only Uncut
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