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23 April 2025

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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New

Julien Baker & TorresSend A Prayer My Way

"On their first album as a duo, the singers reclaim the honky-tonk music they grew up on" (9/10 - Slant). "A heart-bursting record that underlines the power of unity in a fractured world. A must-listen" (8/10 - Dork)

New

Tunde AdebimpeThee Black Boltz

"Meditating in the chaos of creativity and untethered by genre — still evolving; still electric" (8.1/10 - Paste Magazine). "As much a rebirth as it is a document of survival" (8/10 - DIY)

New

BeirutA Study Of Losses

"The most effortless and surprising Beirut album in ages" (7.4/10 - Pitchfork). "What might be his most beautiful record to date, particularly the instrumental numbers" (8/10 - Mojo)

Highest Recent Ratings

Albums to watch

Craig FinnAlways Been

"The Hold Steady bandleader has never sounded so alive" (8.5/10 - Paste Magazine). "Another rousing success from Finn" (8.4/10 - Northern Transmissions). "Probably his finest solo album to date" (8/10 - musicOMH)

DeafheavenLonely People With Power

"Deafheaven’s best album yet, and one that serves as a snapshot of a band at the peak of their powers" (9/10 - The Line Of Best Fit). "As singular and engrossing as heavy albums get" (8/10 - DIY)

Japanese BreakfastFor Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women)

"Deliciously nuanced songwriting shines" (10/10 - NME). "The album’s production is imbued with a rich sense of depth and warmth" (9/10 - Slant)

Edwyn CollinsNation Shall Speak Unto Nation

"A fine album overflowing with excellent musical moments" (8/10 - Clash). "All of this music is a blast, an affecting display of the emotional textures which Collins has always dealt in so confidently, regardless of his health issues" (8/10 - Record Collector)

DivorceDrive To Goldenhammer

"Early contender for album of the year, Divorce are jumping to the front of the next-big-thing-queue" (10/10 - The Skinny). "Rare to find a debut album that exudes as much honesty" (9/10 - Clash)

Sam FenderPeople Watching

"Every song on People Watching is carefully crafted to remain with the listener" (10/10 - The Skinny). "Sam Fender is no longer just a vital voice in UK rock; he’s perhaps the most essential one" (10/10 - Dork)

Youth LagoonRarely Do I Dream

"This is a record you won’t forget in a hurry" (8/10 - Far Out). "The album represents a more mature development of Powers’ vision" (8.3/10 - Beats Per Minute). "Vital and exciting" (8.5/10 - Under The Radar)

THE CHART: THE TOP RATED NEW ALBUMS

The ADM rating is a weighted average from our survey of more than 50 sources , taking into account the number of reviews

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8.4
ADM Rating

Perfume Genius

Glory

Seventh studio album from Seattle-based indie pop solo artist Mike Hadreas produced by Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Feist, Laura Marling)

Added: 25/03/2025
8.4

Benefits

Constant Noise

Second album from the Teeside band led by Kingsley Hall formerly of The Chapman Family and features guest appearances from Pete Doherty, Shakk and Zera Tønin

Added: 20/03/2025
8.2

Circuit des Yeux

Halo On The Inside

Eighth album from the Chicago-based experimental vocalist, composer, and producer Haley Fohr

Added: 14/03/2025
8.2

Antony Szmierek

Service Station At The End Of The Universe

Added: 27/03/2025
8.1

Japanese Breakfast

For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women)

Fourth solo album of lo-fi pop from Philadelphia musician Michelle Zauner produced by Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Perfume Genius, Laura Marling) and featuring a guest appearance by Jeff Bridges

Added: 19/03/2025
8.1

Black Country, New Road

Forever Howlong

Third album from the London post-rock band and first since the departure of lead vocalist Isaac Wood

Added: 02/04/2025
8.0

YHWH Nailgun

45 Pounds

Debut album from the New York electronic post-punk quartet

Added: 21/03/2025
8.0

Greentea Peng

Tell Dem It's Sunny

Second full-length album from the South London neo-soul artist Aria Wells

Added: 20/03/2025
8.0

Deafheaven

Lonely People With Power

Sixth album from the San Francisco post-black metal outfit

Added: 26/03/2025
7.9

Destroyer

Dan's Boogie

Album number fourteen from the Canadian indie rock band fronted by New Pornographers member Dan Bejar

Added: 28/03/2025
7.9

clipping.

Dead Channel Sky

Fifth album from the LA-based experimental hip hop trio consisting of rapper Daveed Diggs and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes

Added: 14/03/2025
7.9

Valerie June

Owls, Omens, and Oracles

Sixth studio album from the Memphis soul / blues singer-songwriter produced by M. Ward and featuring a guest appearance from The Blind Boys Of Alabama.

Added: 14/04/2025
7.8

Bon Iver

SABLE, fABLE

Fifth album and first in six years from the American indie/folk band fronted by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon featuring contributions from Dijon, Flock of Dimes and Danielle Haim

Added: 10/04/2025
7.8

Alison Krauss and Union Station

Arcadia

Eighth studio album from the Grammy Award-winning bluegrass country singer-songwriter and first in fourteen years with Union Station

Added: 02/04/2025
7.8

Steven Wilson

The Overview

Eighth studio album of progressive pop from the Porcupine Tree founder features two 20 minute tracks

Added: 14/03/2025
7.7

Sam Akpro

Evenfall

Debut full-length album from the South London experimental songwriter

Added: 01/04/2025
7.7

Edwyn Collins

Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation

Tenth solo album and first in six years from the indie legend and former Orange Juice frontman

Added: 14/03/2025
7.7

Tunde Adebimpe

Thee Black Boltz

Debut full-length solo album from the singer, songwriter, actor and vocalist with TV On The Radio

Added: 18/04/2025
7.7

Craig Finn

Always Been

Sixth solo album from The Hold Steady frontman produced by Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs

Added: 07/04/2025
7.7

Coheed and Cambria

The Father of Make Believe

Eleventh studio album from the New York's prog-rock quartet is the third album in the Vaxis saga

Added: 14/03/2025
7.6

Jeffrey Lewis

The EVEN MORE Freewheelin' Jeffrey Lewis

Latest album from this New York singer-songwriter and comic book artist

Added: 20/03/2025
7.6

Great Grandpa

Patience, Moonbeam

Third full-length album from the Seattle-based indie rock quintet

Added: 01/04/2025
7.5

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Death Hilarious

Fifth full-length album from the Newcastle sludge-rock band featuring a guest appearance from Run The Jewels' El-P

Added: 03/04/2025
7.5

Florist

Jellywish

Fifth album from the Brooklyn indie-folk band led by Emily Sprague

Added: 10/04/2025
7.5

Courting

Lust for Life, Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story

Third full-length release from the post-punk Liverpool quartet

Added: 14/03/2025
7.5

Dean Wareham

THAT'S THE PRICE OF LOVING ME

Latest solo album from the Galaxie 500 and Luna dream-pop singer and guitarist featuring Britta Phillips, The War On Drugs' Anthony LaMarca and Spectrum's Roger Brogan

Added: 01/04/2025
7.5

Elton John & Brandi Carlile

Who Believes In Angels?

Collaboration between the legendary English artist and American singer-songwriter featuring contributions from Josh Klinghoffer, Pino Palladino and Bernie Taupin

Added: 04/04/2025
7.4

The Horrors

Night Life

Sixth studio album from the goth rock band and first with a change of line-up that includes Millie Kidd of Glaswegian band The Ninth Wave

Added: 20/03/2025
7.4

Julien Baker & Torres

Send A Prayer My Way

Debut collaboration of alt.country from the duo produced with Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties

Added: 16/04/2025
7.4

Momma

Welcome To My Blue Sky

Fourth album from the Brooklyn indie rock quartet produced by bassist Aron Kobayashi Ritch

Added: 04/04/2025

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Latest Reviews

Julien Baker & Torres Send A Prayer My Way

If there is one country album you listen to this year it needs to be Send A Prayer My Way. Julien Baker and TORRES are at the top of their game here Spill Magazine

Julien Baker & Torres Send A Prayer My Way

The album is pleasant in every way you could want it to be, but it’s also a few truck stops short of their best and most memorable work Beats Per Minute

Tunde Adebimpe Thee Black Boltz

Music, love, and the desire to create have the power to stun these wild distractions, and these abstractions can often provide comfort, self-knowledge, and clarity Northern Transmissions

More reviews

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Fresh stuff

SABLE / fABLE by Bon Iver

"Soulful, almost spiritual in its delivery" (10/10 - DIY). "Marks a return to his fragile folk roots" (9/10 - musicOMH). "Revels in its sense of joy and collaboration" (8/10 - The Skinny)

Black Country, New RoadForever Howlong
"They’ve navigated seismic changes and delivered music that feels both radically new and deeply authentic" (10/10 - Dork)

MamalarkyHex Key
"Mainstream success isn’t beyond Mamalarky’s grasp, but they would have to ditch their eccentricities to achieve it. Heaven forbid they ever do" (9/10 - The Line Of Best Fit)

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs PigsDeath Hilarious
"The Newcastle outfit’s fifth album swaggers right up to the edge of oblivion and does a stupid little dance" (8/10 - musicOMH)

DjoThe Crux
"An ambitious, joyous, heartfelt collection" (9/10 - DIY). "Djo triumphs in an accomplished attempt at a third album which spares no songs in getting to the crux of the matter" (8/10 - Clash)

DestroyerDan's Boogie
"The mercurial Canadian’s perspective and lavish instrumentation are a reminder of beauty’s potential" (10/10 - The Guardian). "Dan’s Boogie is Bejar’s most graceful album yet" (9/10 - Northern Transmissions)

BenefitsConstant Noise
"More enveloping, mesmeric and, at times, beautiful in its mannered rage" (9/10 - The Line Of Best Fit). "Benefits shift between EDM, techno, rave and bleak, apocalyptic sonic wastelands" (8/10 - The Skinny)

The HorrorsNight Life
"Words struggle to capture the magnitude of this mountainous piece of music" (9/10 - Far Out). "Revelling in their history and carving a path for a new future, The Horrors feel as vital as ever" (8/10 - Dork)

Circuit des YeuxHalo On The Inside
"Haley Fohr’s latest is rawer, more physical, an almost visceral exercise in self-discovery and emotional struggle" (10/10 - musicOMH). "There’s an undeniable confidence here" (10/10 - God Is In The TV)

All-time top 10

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.

See full list