26 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
Debut LP of synth-pop centred indie from the young Mancunian quartet led by Alexander Hewett, fresh from a stint as a touring musician for Charlotte Gainsbourg
6.8
A clever, fascinating and intricate triumph Read Review
If they do decide to go missing again, at least Egyptian Hip Hop leave behind a debut album for us all to get irretrievably lost in Read Review
Many bands trip over themselves while exploring new ground, but these young chaps - who, we must remember were wrongfully dubbed ‘Egyptian Drip Plop’ by a certain Viva Brother - have done so with graceful ease Read Review
Intrepid and long-awaited debut from the boy wizards. Print edition only
Their early, punky tunes carried flourishes of post-DFA dance music, whereas the songs here are now imbued with modern electronic music's more liquid, experimental spirit Read Review
An altogether uneven album that finds not an inconsiderable amount of its charm in that very unevenness Read Review
A bold and slightly odd return that underscores the quartet’s intricate layers Read Review
Like all good drug experiences, inventiveness soon gives way to repetition and Good Don’t Sleep falls into a pattern, several tracks indistinguishable from others Read Review
Never startling, never seizing your attention, it simply washes over you Read Review
Interesting textures trump actual songs, making this an album that's easier to admire than it is to love Read Review
The biggest letdown is frontman Alex Hewlett's sometimes shockingly weedy voice. Print edition only
Truth is Egyptian Hip Hop’s debut falls short of expectation – it just drifts without any real highs or lows. A missed opportunity Read Review
Roll over video for more options
Egyptian Hip Hop: Good Don't Sleep
Fcukers Ö
Nothing about the album asks permission: it wants a dancefloor, a crowd and a slightly irresponsible amount of volume Dork
A swift album that’ll prove difficult to grow tired of DIY
Altogether, Ö feels like candy: addictive, sweet, glossy; the ultimate sugar rush. While it remains to be seen if there's a crash coming, Fcukers are undeniably the life of the party Exclaim
For a band sold as New York's next great party-starters, much of the debut album from Fcukers feels oddly undercooked The Skinny
It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s exactly what’s needed heading into summer. Fcukers know what they do best, and they are at the top of their game. Who’s ready to keep up with them? The Line Of Best Fit
Robyn Sexistential
After 2018’s meditative Honey, the Swedish star returns to her trademark skin-tingling electro bangers – but this time she’s unpicking her trademark fixation on romantic love The Guardian
Underscores U
This is a proper pop album, not in spite of its oddness, but because of it Dork
James Blake Trying Times
It’s not Blake’s most immediate album, and probably not his most consistent. But it might be one of his most honest, not because it says more, but because it leaves more unsaid Beats Per Minute
The Twilight Sad It's The Long Goodbye
Six albums in, they’ve delivered something that feels both intensely personal and completely universal. It’s The Long Goodbye doesn’t try to dress anything up or soften the edges. It sits with the reality of loss and lets it unfold in its own time XS Noize
The Black Crowes A Pound of Feathers
Chris and Rich Robinson didn’t twiddle their thumbs when putting together this bubbling cauldron of rock, blues, soul and funk – A Pound Of Feathers was done and dusted in just 10 days, and benefits from both discipline and spontaneity Record Collector
The essence of what has driven Robyn’s 30-plus year career DIY
Questioning everything about love, life and sex, Robyn takes us on a joyride that’s both serious and silly NME
BTS ARIRANG
After nearly four years, the world-conquering boyband are back, bringing with them new reflections on life and shining light on more facets of their cultural heritage NME
In so clearly seeking to recapture a certain kind of early-millennial energy in its production and songwriting, Sexistential perhaps forfeits the potential to be its own thing in a way that Honey indisputably was Exclaim
With the shackles of the majors thrown off, Trying Times seems like the most fun Blake has had in a while Spectrum Culture
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