25 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.
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Debut album from the Reading-based indie rock quartet
6.5
For the most part the songs are full to bursting with youthful melodies that lift the weight off the more serious of topics Read Review
Sundara Karma have filled their debut to the brim with hit after hit Read Review
This is a record made for the cavernous expanse of Brixton Academy, fancy light show in tow, chant-a-long choruses guaranteed Read Review
Acting as the figureheads for an emerging scene of intelligent indie, Sundara Karma’s debut is a rip-roaring voyage of exploration and an all-encompassing ode to youth Read Review
In short, electrifying. Print edition only
The Reading quartet have created a debut that sparkles with commercial appeal, and ambition should never be criticised Read Review
Although we’ve waited a hell of a long time for it, ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ perfectly narrates the roller coaster ride that is adolescence, and couldn’t be more relate-able if it tried Read Review
British indie rock's latest "next great hope" release a debut album packed with anthemic sing-alongs and a festival-ready sound, but also hints at greater depth, lyrical range and musical intelligence Read Review
Big and bold when it hits, underwhelming and otherwise transient elsewhere, it’s a debut that manages to occasionally impress while leaving a lot to be desired Read Review
Their music groans with inevitability, with the Killers’ pious preachery, and the chugging earnestness of clean-shaven-era Kings of Leon Read Review
There’s promise here, but ultimately too little to mark them out from the rest of the pack Read Review
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Sundara Karma: Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect
Fcukers Ö
Nothing about the album asks permission: it wants a dancefloor, a crowd and a slightly irresponsible amount of volume Dork
A swift album that’ll prove difficult to grow tired of DIY
Altogether, Ö feels like candy: addictive, sweet, glossy; the ultimate sugar rush. While it remains to be seen if there's a crash coming, Fcukers are undeniably the life of the party Exclaim
For a band sold as New York's next great party-starters, much of the debut album from Fcukers feels oddly undercooked The Skinny
It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s exactly what’s needed heading into summer. Fcukers know what they do best, and they are at the top of their game. Who’s ready to keep up with them? The Line Of Best Fit
Robyn Sexistential
After 2018’s meditative Honey, the Swedish star returns to her trademark skin-tingling electro bangers – but this time she’s unpicking her trademark fixation on romantic love The Guardian
Underscores U
This is a proper pop album, not in spite of its oddness, but because of it Dork
James Blake Trying Times
It’s not Blake’s most immediate album, and probably not his most consistent. But it might be one of his most honest, not because it says more, but because it leaves more unsaid Beats Per Minute
The Twilight Sad It's The Long Goodbye
Six albums in, they’ve delivered something that feels both intensely personal and completely universal. It’s The Long Goodbye doesn’t try to dress anything up or soften the edges. It sits with the reality of loss and lets it unfold in its own time XS Noize
The Black Crowes A Pound of Feathers
Chris and Rich Robinson didn’t twiddle their thumbs when putting together this bubbling cauldron of rock, blues, soul and funk – A Pound Of Feathers was done and dusted in just 10 days, and benefits from both discipline and spontaneity Record Collector
The essence of what has driven Robyn’s 30-plus year career DIY
Questioning everything about love, life and sex, Robyn takes us on a joyride that’s both serious and silly NME
BTS ARIRANG
After nearly four years, the world-conquering boyband are back, bringing with them new reflections on life and shining light on more facets of their cultural heritage NME
In so clearly seeking to recapture a certain kind of early-millennial energy in its production and songwriting, Sexistential perhaps forfeits the potential to be its own thing in a way that Honey indisputably was Exclaim
With the shackles of the majors thrown off, Trying Times seems like the most fun Blake has had in a while Spectrum Culture
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