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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Fifth album from the long-standing San Francisco power pop quartet
6.4
This record is killer. And they don't sound ready to give up just yet Read Review
Effortlessly skips across sounds and styles like a human Wurlitzer. Print edition only
Their familiar touch once again serves them well, though it does make for an album that sometimes feels too comfortable. Happily, Sound’s peaks are breathtaking and surprising Read Review
Imperial Teen have regularly delighted fans with their recorded material’s impish tendencies, and Feel the Sound is no exception Read Review
A record rife with glorious hooks, harmonies, and heart Read Review
Feel the Sound turns blipping guitars and synth riffs into roller-skate jams the whole band can harmonize over Read Review
Feel the Sound is not a classic, it’s not a masterpiece, and despite its pristine delivery, it’s not perfect. But it is an honest and genuine sampling of a band who continues to subvert expectations Read Review
Feel the Sound will get you to do what its title implores, especially on standouts like "Runaway" and "Last to Know," but chances are it'll be on the stage where these songs truly come to life Read Review
It's not going to surprise anyone, least of all longtime fans, but it's not like there are dozens of similar acts around at the moment demanding your attention Read Review
Surely they can’t keep doing what they’re doing forever, especially if the results are hit and miss Read Review
If you’re looking for some mindless fluff to have a good time with, there are certainly worse albums than this one. It’s just that there are better ones too Read Review
It's only the music that matters and the urge to enjoy it couldn't be more compelling Read Review
Imperial Teen sound here like they’re trying to squeeze some new flavor out of a chewed-up piece of gum Read Review
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Imperial Teen: Feel The Sound
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