29 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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Ninth studio album from the pop giant, and his first solo effort since reuniting with Take That in 2010
5.8
It's not going to win over anyone who doesn't already own at least a couple of Robbie Williams albums, but that isn't what it sets out to do Read Review
Producer Jacknife Lee and primary writers Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis have concentrated on pure pop. Print edition only
The most wildly entertaining album Robbie Williams has released in years Read Review
Features Robbie doing what Robbie does best -- writing and performing effortless pop music -- but not at his best Read Review
If you loved Williams the way he was, rejoice. If you didn't, it may be time to switch off the radio and television for a few months, and bury your head in a bucket of calamine lotion Read Review
He has showbiz genes tempered with unpredictability and a fascinating, unlikely openness Read Review
Imperial return from deposed pop emperor and new dad. Print edition only
Not the triumphant comeback he'd planned, but still, here's to the next one. Print edition only
Flawed, funny and full of hits, this is something of a return to form Read Review
More epic rock than playground pop, with echoing guitar lines and “oh-way-oh” backing vocals directly lifted from Coldplay Read Review
A well-crafted ode in honour of self-obsession Read Review
It’s safe, something of a retreat from past endeavours to a sound more suited to commercial returns in the present Read Review
A largely by-the-numbers exercise and seems almost certain to quickly fall off the public consciousness Read Review
Williams has a long way to go if he is to surpass the mature pop peak of Feel Read Review
As is his custom, many songs here are littered with contrite musings – not least Hunting for You, a song that tries epic U2 stadium balladry on for size. But even revelations like "I am the wreckage of my past" are trumped by Take the Crown's riveting closer, Losers Read Review
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Robbie Williams: Take the Crown
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