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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Seventh album from the California alt.rock five-piece
4.4
While its closing moments provide some of the best of the band’s career, it looks like the album’s titular question will continue to be pondered for some time yet Read Review
Incubus fully embrace surf-bum balladry Read Review
The album will sell because of who they are, and the tracks will remain enjoyable because they sound good Read Review
Oh dear. Just as surely as Coldplay did, just as surely as Kings of Leon did, and just as surely as Audioslave did for a couple of singles, Incubus have turned into U2 Read Review
If Not Now, When? is frustrating in many ways, chiefly because it feels like a step in the wrong direction for a band that can still pen enthralling tunes Read Review
Dilutes the hard-edged funk rock of their early-2000s peak popularity into slick, inert ripples of interchangeable power pop Read Review
Simplicity isn’t always a bad thing; “Here In My Room” is a great example of that, but here, however, Incubus just seem lazy Read Review
The 2011 incarnation of Incubus is a depressingly dull and sterile proposition and, really, we wouldn’t wish these bland wet blanket anthems on anyon Read Review
Boyd seems to have styled his vocal performances on this album as if he was auditioning on American Idol Read Review
Brandon Boyd seems to have taken control of Incubus’ musical direction and put himself even more centre-stage. Too many songs are simply a vehicle for him pushing his voice to its limits, and little else Read Review
The passion that used to drive their music was once furious, but is now soppy and infinitely uninteresting Read Review
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Incubus: If Not Now, When?
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