14 August 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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Third studio release from the Washington-based rapper who made his name with some much-admired mixtapes
6.1
With no big time faux pas to be found,The Gifted is an extraordinary ‘gift’ to any hip-hop collection Read Review
Names like Just Blaze, Lee Majors, Cardiak, and No Credit supply the beats for this more mature/still flashy release, all of it adding up to Wale's win number three Read Review
Wale has lost many of the qualities that made people like him in the first place, but he's refined the elements that he's managed to retain Read Review
While The Gifted is a solid and even enjoyable effort, Wale doesn’t end up sounding like he’s at the top, just at the top of DC Read Review
Wale continues to struggle to define himself, which proves even more difficult on a label dominated by broad caricatures Read Review
If he wants to be taken as a serious artist like the ones he spends most of the record emulating, he’s going to have to start taking some real chances and get real far out of the box Read Review
Whatever survived of the brain behind Mixtape About Nothing has been permanently atrophied by luxury and laziness Read Review
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Wale: The Gifted
Laura Veirs Temple Songs
There might be deliberate ambient intrusions and undeleted imperfections, but there is something very intentional going on here, the sense they ae made by somebody carving out space in the jostle of everyday life, consciously taking the time to step away and check in with yourself. Print edition only Mojo
Getdown Services Massive Champion
An album that remains delightfully impossible to predict from beginning to end. Print edition only Uncut
It is daft, not 'zany'. There is enough substance here to go far beyond the gags. Print edition only Record Collector
Some of the more niche references might fly over the heads of non-UK listeners, but regardless of whether you know the Cha Cha Slide dance or who Baby Oleg is, the pair's personality and sense of humour make Massive Champion a winner. Print edition only Mojo
Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend
A dense, introspective opus as complex and unpredictable as its author DIY
Ravyn Lenae Blue Island
Even if it's hard to imagine anything on Blue Island blowing up as much as "Love Me Not" did, the album continues Lenae's run of strong, adventurous records All Music
Temple Songs is quietly confident and infused with the strong poetic sense that marks all of Veirs' best work. That she no longer employs a producer to pull it all together is merely a sign of her growth and maturation as an artist All Music
Jungle Sunshine
It’s business as usual for a band that are comfortingly dependable but due a shake-up Rolling Stone UK
Over a decade and still churning out albums like this. Jungle seem completely incapable of putting a foot wrong at this point Far Out
Continues to amalgamate genres into a cacophony of vibes, artist creativity and collaboration, and tracks made for the dance floor. It’s one of the best records to come out of this year, and it is highly recommended Spill Magazine
Consistently enjoyable without ever feeling particularly surprising DIY
A summer smasher. Print edition only Record Collector
Eleven concise tunes float by like a host of funky angels. It's a beach party for the soul. Print edition only Mojo
The noise around the band is at fever pitch, and their second record, Massive Champion, is ready to ignite a flame that will burn out any such nonsense around trend-based accusations. This is a band who are here to stay Far Out
It’s an album full of questions, full of seeking, and of quietly accepting solitude until some of the answers begin to become clear. It’s an album that flicks a match or lights a candle in the dark, and holds onto the hope that the light brings, for as long as it remains Far Out
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