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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Album no. 4 is a heavy one for the Atlanta, Georgia indie rockers
6.5
A band that have found their sound, are comfortable in their skin, and improving rapidly Read Review
Despite its flaws, Simple Math went Top 30 in the US. The infinitely superior Cope might expand their reach further. Print edition only
Though they’re still mining the same vein they have for a decade, they’re still churning out gems too Read Review
More than just the sound of a band getting by; it's the sound of Manchester Orchestra at their best Read Review
Cope is all about the brutal force of dirty, meaty guitars, and lots of them Read Review
The songs are fast and short; the energy throughout the album is infectious and continuous Read Review
Sustained power and little in the way of variety can make for quick fatigue, but at just 38 minutes long ‘Cope’ has hooks and energy to spare Read Review
Has the feel of a band playing it safe on their first self-recorded, self-produced album Read Review
The best part of Hull’s songwriting is still present: the razor-sharp lyrical hooks that can be sung over and over again Read Review
This album sets lyrics about shaky adulthood to meat-and-potatoes guitar rock (think MMJ via Foo Fighters Read Review
Manchester’s Orchestra’s success highlights an ability to create heavy rock moments that don’t drag their audience down Read Review
Plaintive emo vocals, grungy riffs and Pixies-style stop-start dynamics, all put together deftly and embellished by punchy, bright production Read Review
It's becoming pretty clear that the genre in which Manchester Orchestra resides has more untapped potential than the band itself Read Review
With this album and previous album Simple Math, the band has completely abandoned their delicate, softer arrangements and gone in a direction that doesn’t really set them apart anymore Read Review
Exhilarating if unrelenting. Print edition only
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Manchester Orchestra: Cope
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