9 November 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 album of indie rock from the Canadian trio
6.9
Exciting in its pacing, invigorated in its writing, and illustrious in its instrumentation Read Review
An album that remarkably stuns, even though its world view is largely seen from a car stuck in the middle of snow bank on the side of the road Read Review
This is gleeful, irresistible, magical stuff Read Review
Sparsely lit lover’s folk is by no means a fresh development, but The Rural Alberta Advantage continue to take the sound in new, interesting ways Read Review
The songs throughout this album are powerful, memorable and some really moving Read Review
Throughout Departing, RAA keep the tones very cool Read Review
An enjoyable but still not entirely satisfying collection of songs that don’t really work as well together as they do apart Read Review
The Toronto band's thematic template doesn't make any radical departures from their debut, but they nevertheless display newfound restraint and maturity Read Review
The relatively sparse and chilly tone of Departing ultimately feels less like a slump than a conscious decision to present itself as the wintertime counterpart to Hometowns' prairie summer Read Review
While a surface-level listen to these songs is satisfying, they won’t hold up for too long Read Review
Where RAA once vividly evoked the fierce howling of the prairie wind, the recollections of it are now far hazier Read Review
Departing builds on themes the band explored on 2009 debut Hometowns with another batch of geographically specific Canadian tales of tumultuous loves Read Review
These are simple, almost campfire songs Read Review
The album never fully soars either imaginatively or musically Read Review
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The Rural Alberta Advantage: Departing
Rosalía Lux
Orchestral pop worthy of an orchestra Consequence Of Sound
Swerves into yet another new lane, bringing together operatics, orchestral movements and buzzing electronics NME
Danny Brown Stardust
The Detroit visionary revels in hyperpop, club, and confession for a messy, euphoric reset that only he could pull off NME
What lingers isn’t the guest list or the language tally. It’s authority. A singer at full stretch without strain. A writer and arranger who knows when to hold and when to let go Dork
Mavis Staples Sad And Beautiful World
A vibrant mix of gospel, blues, country, soul, and rock, this is roots music that speaks to the present with compassionate, life-affirming power. It's yet another artistic triumph for the Black American music and Civil Rights icon All Music
Hatchie Liquorice
Filled with highs, lows, and surprises, Liquorice eloquently expresses young love's volatility - and makes for Hatchie's most consistent music since Keepsake All Music
Sorry COSPLAY
Dressed to impress. Print edition only Record Collector
Asha Lorenz's dreamy, deceptively casual vocals soften the sharp edges throughout and help foster an overall coherence even amid Cosplay's outbreaks of giddy chaos. Print edition only Uncut
After the insular mood of Quaranta, with its themes of addiction and depression, it’s refreshing to hear Brown having unabashed neon-lit fun The Quietus
The Detroit rapper feared his music would get dull after he went sober, but no-one could be bored by this guest-stuffed, chaotically swaggering new album The Guardian
Sobriety may have taken a long time to achieve, but it’s strapped a rocket to this album without sacrificing any of the glorious weirdness that always made him such a compelling figure Dork
His ambition remains undimmed as he opens this new chapter DIY
A rejuvenated, feature-packed return to form for one of the most innovative rappers around The Skinny
The album finds the Detroit rapper discovering a new lust for life Slant Magazine
Danny Brown looks and sounds better today than ever before, and his latest offering is a testament to his restored health and balance. Don’t forget he’s been in the game for over two decades at this point, yet you’d never guess it from listening to his music Clash
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