1 October 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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Philadelphia one-man act Dayve Hawk (Memory Cassette, Weird Tapes) with an album of danceable indie pop
8.0
Seek Magic washes over you with such streamlined, perfect grace. Like the still waters on the sleeve, it's a gorgeous thing; but what lies beneath the perfect surface remains unknown. Read Review
...the songs nod vigorously to the likes of Kraftwerk, New Order, 808 State, Nintendo and instant messengers, all at once... each song is well-stocked with brilliantly crafted hooks Read Review
A record of achingly gorgeous dance-pop that captures both the joy of nostalgia and the melancholic sense that we're grasping for good times increasingly out of reach Read Review
...it affirms, thrillingly, the need for pop for break out of its straitjacket and lead us, unshackled, towards the genre’s wilder shores Read Review
Print edition only
This is an album that visits the party vibe of Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours whilst delving into the darker territories such as those found on The Knife's tour de force Silent Shout Read Review
It’s music that will soundtrack those peculiar moments where you really pay attention, free of distractions. This is music to spend time with and worth making time for Read Review
An intelligent, fascinating record, clearly made by someone who, quite simply, fucking loves music and knows exactly what a classic album sounds like Read Review
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Memory Tapes : Seek Magic
Protomartyr Hotel Usona
Hotel Usona is the perfect accompaniment for Protomartyr's dark themes. It's a calculated mess, grandiose pomp in squalid decay, a steely examination of the modern moment Spectrum Culture
Gilla Band Pugnello
We’ll always need a challenging band that pushes us past our limits, and Pugnello continues their crusade to deafen their audience in the most wonderful way Under The Radar
Gilla Band emerge as spokespersons for our age of solipsism, dissecting and lampooning these proclivities. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re doomed PopMatters
Tinashe Popstar
On Popstar, Tinashe remains at the front of the class, teaching material she has known long enough to deliver with her eyes closed Exclaim
For all of her career, Tinashe has questioned what it means to be a popstar, and here, she does so explicitly. But Popstar is less of a thesis statement than a coming to terms with the identity she's chosen for herself The Line Of Best Fit
The musician’s eighth full-length combines some of her most experimental, genre-blending sounds with her stickiest hooks on an autobiographical trip through stardom and celebrity Paste Magazine
Tinashe’s eighth album is her best and bravest yet: more ambitious, more focused, and effortlessly in touch with the zeitgeist. It’s the best pop album of the year Pitchfork
American R&B artist expands her palette and subverts expectation on liberatingly chaotic and fun eighth album musicOMH
Tinashe is no longer chasing approval. Instead, she’s bold, unpigeonholeable and certain of who she is as a person and artist NME
Beck Ride Lonesome
While many of the orchestral flourishes on Ride Lonesome do not feel as impactful as those on past albums, they still serve as a reminder that Beck can lend even his more nondescript moments a sense of refinement No Ripcord
Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts Second Song
The legendary Canadian looks back over his life in unashamedly nostalgic, romantic fashion with supremely poignant results musicOMH
Johnny Marr The Age of Everything
Former Smiths guitarist's fifth solo album may not contain any surprises but sees him refine his songwriting chops and deliver a solid record in the process musicOMH
Wishy Wishy
The Indianapolis band’s second album is all big feelings and bigger hooks as songwriters Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites level up from their already promising debut NME
Nature's Pill is sexy and brash, but not without touching on the disappointment that comes with trying people on in an attempt to crystallize who you are Exclaim
Besides its transportive nature, this medicine is Wishy’s own because of the ponderous hooks from vocalists Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites, who somehow find their place among the abundant sonic tchotchkes The Line Of Best Fit
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