22 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.
Browse specific styles
Third album from the Edinburgh indie folk band fronted by singer-songwriter Neil Pennycook
7.5
Most of the tracks are slow to middling in pace, and there’s less to really get the blood up. It’s a minor gripe however for what is an exceptional follow-up to a truly singular creation Read Review
This is the strongest set of songs the band has offered up to date Read Review
Neil Pennycook sounds like a man with more than a few stories to tell Read Review
Some may find the Scottish lament thing a little full on. For me, it remains sufficiently muted to not go over the top , and while I’ll admit to being a sucker for minor piano chords over a seaweed string of banjo, the crack in the voice seals the deal Read Review
Some of Meursault's lo-fi essence might have been shed, but the sparse arrangements of songs like Hole or the quite beautiful (but heartbreaking) Mamie benefit greatly from increased clarity Read Review
It's far from an instant classic but, given time, it latches onto your world. You won't send it away Read Review
Although there is charm and panache in the relatively lo-fi first two albums, here the songs really do benefit from the studio Read Review
It’s hard not to see this as a successful sideways step for Meursault – their move towards a more ‘natural’ sound feels, well, natural for them Read Review
Neil Pennycook's folktronica outfit move folkwards. Print edition only
The album's epicentre is Dearly Distracted, seven minutes of escalating smoulder and lyrical bile with a guitar coda that would do Crazy Horse proud. Print edition only
Meursault operate where strident folk-rock meets etiolated grunge and ambient electronica, a blend perfectly measured for the melancholy broadsides of Something For The Weakened Read Review
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Meursault: Something For The Weakened
Ladytron Paradises
In an age when production is deliberately designed not to disturb listeners, Paradises may prove popular The Arts Desk
The cover artwork to Ladytron’s latest record Paradises adopts mind trickery by showing two hands touching through a triangle shape that looks both like a reflective mirror and a translucent window. Befitting artwork to hint at the content inside the triad’s album, which often takes the listener to places that are up to one’s own imagination and interpretation God Is In The TV
Ladytron head for the disco and relive the fun of 90s clubland The Skinny
Maybe Paradises could have been trimmed down a little, but their contagious creative zeal is apparent throughout its entirety. Ladytron have secured their iconic status once again, ensuring they become a cult band for an entirely new generation, or maybe more Under The Radar
The track I See Red radiates synth euphoria but the Pet Shop Boys-ish Death In London and single Kingdom Undersea are more about introspection than rapture. Print edition only Mojo
Momentum sags somewhat over its lengthy duration - but it also unquestionably features some of their finest, and funkiest, work to date. Print edition only Uncut
BTS ARIRANG
The group's journey to global domination has been nothing short of extraordinary, so it’s fitting that they have delivered an album that is of similarly epic proportions Rolling Stone UK
The barrier-breaking K-Pop icons return with a blockbuster album Clash
Ending a hiatus that began in 2022, the septet recapture a distinctiveness that had been threatening to ebb away The Guardian
Seven members attack the music with a ferocity that feels earned and personal. The album feels more often like seven individuals with real chemistry than one polished unit. The solo years gave each member a sharper creative identity, and RM’s instincts hold the whole thing together Consequence Of Sound
On its blockbuster return, the world's biggest band stresses group identity and South Korean roots, while pushing the songs into adventurous new territory Rolling Stone
Brigitte Calls Me Baby Irreversible
Irreversible sounds like a dead end: a lethargic monument to hollow style over substance, entirely on brand for a band that saddled their debut with one of the more ridiculous, faux-philosophical titles of recent years. It is a meaningless shell of a record with few, if any, redeeming features No Ripcord
Ora Cogan Hard Hearted Woman
In a time that can appear bent on applauding cynicism Cogan chooses curiosity. Her songs look straight into the abyss and still reach out for colour The Line Of Best Fit
Shabaka Of The Earth
On his first true solo album, Shabaka unites beats, flutes and saxophone (and some rap) Spectrum Culture
The Orielles Only You Left
As with the rest of their discography, The Orielles once again prove that you don’t always have to follow along with the masses to make good music Beats Per Minute
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