26 September 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 of indie synth pop from this NYC group
7.1
It’s fair to say that Hooray For Earth is a relative latecomer to the indie synth-rock party, but it certainly makes for an interesting guest Read Review
The seismic, synth-speckled True Loves is an expectations-exceeding triumph Read Review
True Loves delivers on the fantastic promise of its title-track, comprising a commendable listen for those demanding defined individuality from their chosen songsmiths Read Review
Rarely does music feel this much like a celebration, and though it might not get to you emotionally, that doesn’t mean you can’t sing along Read Review
There are some brilliant ideas to be found throughout this debut album Read Review
The songwriting’s more fleshed out, and the stylistic breadth is expanded considerably, with rich emotional hues explored throughout Read Review
Taken individually, this is an unbelievable collection of songs that will be finding their way onto mix CDs and iTunes playlists for a long time to come Read Review
Theirs is a particular brand of noise-smithery that skims the choicest ingredients of its inspirations, and True Loves is an album that, for the most part, excels as a result Read Review
More like a singles collection than a coherent album-length vision Read Review
This is multi-coloured pop on a grand scale – and for the most part you won’t be able to resist Read Review
There is a great electro pop record here waiting to get out but it is stymied by arid production and a general lo-fi homemade vibe Read Review
True Loves betrays a primary coloured fluorescent ambition in size of sound that stretches far beyond the club night support circuit Read Review
An entirely forgettable listen Read Review
A notionally ambitious ultimately floundering debut Read Review
Sounds better the further away you are from it. Print edition only
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Hooray For Earth: True Loves
Blondshell Violins
This is an artist widening her frame without losing her bite. It’s confident, a little wistful, and often loud in all the right places Northern Transmissions
On her third album, Sabrina Teitelbaum fights to strike a balance between savage beauty and jagged home truths NME
Everything great about Blondshell is present on ‘Violins’, but it feels sharper, more adventurous and more assured then ever before Clash
LA alt-rock singer Blondshell trades plain-speaking lyricism for something more abstract, while Irish rock band Gurriers cut through the noise with their ambitious second album The Independent
While trying to find and assert herself, the song has her imagining walking down the aisle to Beethoven's Für Elise, even though no one, including her, would pick it as a wedding song All Music
An often-delicate inward vision that pairs frustration with beauty DIY
It's in her ability to take the everyday experience and turn it into an epic noise that Violins finds its sweet spot The Line Of Best Fit
It would be unfair to call Violins Blondshell’s finest work to date, given the strength of her previous albums. What’s clear, though, is that it’s every bit as good as what came before Under The Radar
Protomartyr Hotel Usona
The album is more eerie in tone than its predecessors, like a distant alarm sounding, trying to amplify the sounds we cannot hear Northern Transmissions
It’s a bleak listen, sure, but Protomartyr haven’t ever been the comforting types. In fact, they’ve chosen the perfect time to double down on their righteous anger and despair, and if everything were to come to a catastrophic end right now, you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for it Far Out
For newcomers, it's a perfectly moody entry point. Hotel Usona is the sound of a band settling into their own skin, creating a space that's uniquely theirs and generously sharing the key Exclaim
From singer Joe Casey’s handmade album artwork to drummer Alex Leonard’s impish, kinetic inversions of classic post-punk rhythm, the Detroit band crafts an austere, unflinching record as bleak as it is cathartic Paste Magazine
This is not a hotel you'd want to stay at any time soon, but it's a remarkable record to spend time with. Print edition only Uncut
Under dim hotel lights, Casey’s lyricism appears foreboding and alien in a way it never has before The Line Of Best Fit
Ezra Collective Here Because of Hope
Arguably the biggest jazz band in the country return with an album that shows off both their exuberant and more reflective sides musicOMH
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