13 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.
View top rated by publication
Browse specific styles
Latest release from the legendary film director and composer working again with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies
Album number twenty-four from the lo-fi indie folk band led by John Darnielle
Album number fourteen from the Oregon folk singer-songwriter was produced and performed on her own
Fourth Studio album from the Country / hip-hop artist featuring contributions from Leon Bridges, Sam Elliott, Jamie Foxx, Gunna, Kehlani, Orville Peck and Teyana Taylor
Second full-length release from Welsh electronic brothers Tom and Ed Russell
Second full-length album from the London-based R&B trio featuring guest appearances from Juicy J and kwn
Debut full-length album from the London-based sextet produced by Margo Broom and Seth Evans
Third full-length release from Chicago R&B singer-songwriter featuring guest appearances by Doechii and Dominic Fike
Third album from the LA indie rock singer-songwriter featuring contributions from Alex G, Jack Antonoff, Julien Baker, Bo Burnham, Lucy Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson, Caroline Shaw and Chris Thile
Ninth studio album form the Barcelona-based, Venezuelan electronic producer
Eighth album from the American pop star working with producers Ilya and Max Martin
Fifth album from the Sydney soft rock artist working with Mark Perkins with Maxim Ludwig
The first album for fourteen years from the first band the late Tony Wilson signed to Factory produced by Keir Stewart and featuring vocals from Caoilfhionn Rose and Lucas Elliot
Latest release from Jonathan Meiburg's Austin indie/psych rock band featuring contributions from Leo Abrahams, Laurie Anderson, Mamadou Kouyate, Moctar Kouyate and Doug Wieselman
Second full-length album from the South African artist featuring guest appearances from Babalwa M, Zara Larsson, Liquideep and MaWhoo
Latest studio album from the English singer-songwriter recorded in Nashville and was produced with Brad Jones
The latest album from the English electro pop star featuring contributions from A. G. Cook, David Cronenberg and Finn Keane
Seventh album and first in six years from the New York indie rock band produced by Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Eminem, Kanye West)
Seventh album from the Canadian singer-songwriter produced by Zach Dawes and featuring collaborations with Tanya Tucker, Josh Homme and The War and Treaty
Fourth full-length album from the Liverpool metalcore band featuring guest appearances from Mansur Brown, Nowhere2run, Jordan Rakei, Static Dress and Bucki Sugar
John Carpenter Cathedral
Carpenter has always excelled at the “less is more” approach to music, but it is here in Cathedral that this discipline is used to build something claustrophobic and heavy. It’s not just music that follows the listener; it surrounds them Spill Magazine
John Carpenter’s Cathedral is fantastic listening, mixing what listeners likely love about the horror director’s scores with new sounds. When blending the soundtrack with the graphic novel, it’s a less satisfying experience, though still worth it for Carpenter fans Spectrum Culture
While an intriguing narrative idea that longtime fans will lap up, John Carpenter’s “heavy metal” exercise with his trusty son and godson band can just never shake off a tacky air that robs the album of its Gothic dread or evocative transport Far Out
The closest thing to a heavy metal album the horror master has made sports all his hallmarks – depth, gravitas, riffs that could power an substation, and a strong sense of gathering tension musicOMH
Its still one of the most exhilarating things Carpenter has released. It’s up there with ‘Halloween’, ‘They Live’ ‘Ghosts of Mars’, and ‘The Thing’. Sit down and strap in as the Master of Horror has a journey for you! Clash
If not quite vintage Carpenter, his trademarks - unsettling repeated refrains ("Redemption"), moody bass lines ("Primeval") and dramatic key changes ("Back To Ruins") - extol an unceasing gift for evoking creeping dread. Print edition only Mojo
Some of their tonal subtleties have been sacrificed in the process, but there's no denying the dramatic punch of pieces like "The Ferryman" and the semi-operatic "Elevator Two". Print edition only Uncut
"Lord Of The Underground" is Metallica-grade dirge-rock, while the rolling rhythms of "Revenge" and low-end synths of "Resolution" provide fittingly ballistic, moody climaxes to an auteur-grade album if devilish delights. Print edition only Record Collector
There are some beautiful moments with a vaguely Kusturica-esque sound, some great crunchy Motörhead-esque speed metal riffs, and pieces where you can just imagine people being chased down grungy tunnels by demonic creatures – even if you haven’t read the graphic novel The Quietus
The Durutti Column Renascent
It is yet another brilliant presentation of a master who never got the full recognition he always deserved Beats Per Minute
FLO Therapy At The Club
There are four or five songs here better than anything on their debut. There are also four or five that a firmer hand would have cut, which would have left something leaner, stranger and harder to ignore Beats Per Minute
Overmono Pure Devotion
An album of entirely “Paradise Runner” clones could have done more damage than good. Yet the sense remains that reserves exist, that these songs of Devotion are the end of the beginning Beats Per Minute
Arca XXXXX
XXXXX never feels cluttered. At 47 minutes, it fits comfortably on a single disc, while each individual element blends into the larger flow effortlessly Beats Per Minute
Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend
Co-produced alongside Jack Antonoff and Alex G, the singer-songwriter’s first solo album in six years details falling in love, reckoning with grief, and starting over. It’s her most daring, optimistic record yet Paste Magazine
Where Punisher felt apocalyptic with its closing suite "I Know the End" and a hearty dose of divine timing, Lost Weekend is a transmission from a hero's journey back to herself through a dystopian emotional landscape Exclaim
As we're sure you are aware this is a really tough time for websites like ours. So we are asking you to help support us in any way you can via Patreon. Whether it's a small amount each month or a one-off payment, everything we receive will be put back into making ADM as good as it can possibly be.
"How do you follow up the album that made you a star – and a caricature? In classic Charli style: with a pivot to guitar and a meta masterpiece about the instability of identity" (10/10 - The Guardian
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