24 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
Second album of hardcore punk from the Brooklyn five-piece produced by TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek
6.2
There's no second album syndrome here. It whoops ass Read Review
It becomes clear that the band haven’t toned down their act at all - they’re dirtier, filthier, meaner - and most refreshingly their pop sensibilities are completely compromised Read Review
What makes Jaded & Faded great is the fact that you can still be stuck humming the buzzsaw riffs or cooing a vocal line to yourself hours or days later Read Review
Lacks the reckless energy of its precursor, it's ultimately a more adventurous and interesting album because of it, proving that Cerebral Ballzy are more than just a group of guys with a keen interest in hardcore Read Review
The chops have been there from day one. It’s just that this time out, the songs are worth hanging around for a bit more Read Review
A persuasive blast from beginning to end. Print edition only
It's still one for punk fans only – claims for greater melody and less speed are all relative, and you certainly shouldn't approach Jaded & Faded expecting McBusted – but it's a flash of fun Read Review
There’s little by way of obvious payoff waiting once the facade of bland extremity has been penetrated Read Review
They've got the speed, the outfits and the record collection, but Cerebral Ballzy's interpretation of hardcore punk never comes off as more than cartoony Read Review
Roll over video for more options
Cerebral Ballzy: Jaded & Faded
Ladytron Paradises
Ladytron have produced an album that, from its inception, sought to invoke the same spirit that the band had 25 years ago Far Out
Gorillaz The Mountain
The strongest case in years that Gorillaz can still make records that matter as records Dork
Kim Gordon Play Me
'Play me' doesn’t try to comfort. It tries to provoke, energise and outlast the scroll Dork
The Orielles Only You Left
These songs come from months of demo-hoarding and forensic listening, the band archiving every practice-room spark before lovingly picking through the results Dork
James Blake Trying Times
Blake sounds energised by the room he has carved out for himself Dork
Harry Styles Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
This isn’t an album built like a straight line from hook to hook. It moves in waves, often favouring texture and atmosphere over immediate release Dork
Underscores U
It’s technical excellence as a musical product cannot be overstated. For a pop album to be this busy yet possess a pocket as deep and rich as underscores displays here is simply amazing Sputnik Music (staff)
Indie rock icon Kim Gordon acerbically wrestles with the state of the world over hip-hop and industrial beats on Play Me PopMatters
The former electro-pop enfant terrible swings big on her latest album, compressing all her split personalities and eclectic tastes into a high-gloss, high-stakes gamble to remake pop on her own terms Pitchfork
On U, she finds a clearly-defined, rounded-out identity in her music for the first time, and she delivers the most immediate and the most robust work of her career The Line Of Best Fit
Performing, writing and producing everything herself, April Grey pares back her hyperpop electronics for an LP in thrall to 90s pop-R&B, with songs that big stars would die for The Guardian
April Harper Grey’s latest hits all the beats of a classic pop record — a choreo-primed single, a power ballad, a post-breakup closure anthem — without overstaying its welcome Paste Magazine
A tour-de-force of production chops that cements April Harper Grey as a key auteur in the future of the genre NME
Alexis Taylor Paris In The Spring
Paris in the Spring is a gem of a record which, while never over-reaching its ambition, sparkles with electronic ingenuity as it takes in all seasons of human experience Spectrum Culture
It's a beautiful collection of genre-hopping songs. Print edition only Uncut
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