17 October 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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Second posthumous album from the rapper following his death in February 2020 includes guest appearances from Kanye West, Pusha T, Rick Ross, 21 Savage, Future, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa and Pharrell
5.6
Faith is the ultimate affirmation of Pop Smoke’s musical transcendence Read Review
‘Faith’ succeeds by offering not ony an elegiac portrait of Pop Smoke, but also a vision of what he could have become Read Review
The rapper’s second posthumous album has some dazzling moments, but ultimately feels like business as usual for an audience whose attention may be elsewhere Read Review
Despite poor production choices and lazy song structures, Pop Smoke's energy and solo spurts of brilliance won't allow for this stale posthumous release to tarnish his legacy Read Review
The Canarsie don's raw talent is overshadowed by superfluous guest spots on the second album to be released since his tragic death in 2020 Read Review
Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album sounds like it’s solely designed to generate clicks as a new generation of rap fans continues to be exploited for their streams Read Review
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Militarie Gun God Save the Gun
God Save the Gun isn’t about victory or transcendence. It’s about maintenance and the quiet, exhausting work of staying for others Northern Transmissions
As brutally difficult as it is cathartic DIY
The Last Dinner Party From The Pyre
Instead of switching lanes, the band develop the dramatic baroque-pop sound they first introduced themselves with on their highly anticipated second album NME
Tame Impala Deadbeat
The psych hermit-turned-pop hitmaker turns to dance music – and openly embraces his introversion and insecurities NME
Go-for-broke rock songs and total vulnerability make the Gun’s second LP their most compelling yet NME
God Save the Gun feels universal and uniting in the way the best records often do. It is an invitation for all those who have caught themselves feeling like burning their life down to release those feelings together, transmuting that negativity into something vital and deeply cathartic Under The Radar
Los Angeles outfit’s second album mixes hardcore punk and pop rock with sincerity and passion with infectious results musicOMH
Sudan Archives The BPM
‘The BPM’ is an absolute blast and deserves to be played as often and LOUD as you can. When you really crank it, you get to immerse yourself in every note, vocal and tone Clash
Ian Shelton has squared up to the tempest, his bandmates in Militarie Gun helping him brave the torrent. The sound is their weapon, making this one Gun that's actually worth saving Exclaim
The overstuffed nature of its production choices means that ‘God Save The Gun’ perhaps lacks some of the raw, impactful lucidity of the band’s debut, but it nonetheless overflows with singular, soaring and soulful energy Clash
Drawing on indie influences and high-profile collaborators for their sophomore album, the California band pushes its post-hardcore sound into something both raw and exciting Paste Magazine
The album ends suddenly and uncertainly. We’re left with plenty to mull over but, equally importantly, a great desire to hear those ginormous hooks all over again The Line Of Best Fit
All this merely confirms what we suspected but deep down already knew: The Last Dinner Party are a rare and special band, and ‘From The Pyre’ proves it emphatically Clash
American polymath creates a vibrant, energetic atmosphere on her bustling house party of a third album musicOMH
Brittney Parks’ tense and virtuosic new album documents a life in motion, blending breakups and rebounds, dancefloor euphoria and everyday anxiety Pitchfork
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
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree
Frank Ocean Channel Orange