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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Acoustic folk / Americana on the second solo album from the founding member of Philadelphia folkies Espers
7.1
Any number of the eight original compositions on here could become standards such is the strength of the songwriting Read Review
Picks up where its predecessor left off. Print edition only
Stripped-back acoustic arrangements, giving her voice space to drift and swell beautifully. Print edition only
Meg Baird is no ice queen, no enchantress, no maddened seer, but a lovely, friendly voice in the sunshine, singing you into quiet joy Read Review
Slightly tremulous, soft, thoughtful, non-generic but vertebrate acoustic music Read Review
With an adept band supporting her ... her tender songcraft grows stronger Read Review
A compelling listen. Despite her love of folk traditions, and a classic voice, Baird keeps these songs from ever feeling dated Read Review
An introspective and emotionally bare collection of songs that sees her enlisting a whole host of talented musicians Read Review
An enjoyable record and one that demonstrates Baird definitely has some songwriting chops to compliment her voice Read Review
A fine effort, and while it won’t have you listening compulsively, it’s a record full of promise – dictated by one of the finest singing voices America’s modern folk scene has to offer Read Review
It’s no revolution, but smooth and subtle enough to reward a little care and attention Read Review
Compelling in its way, but a bit Isobel Campbell when it should be Joni Mitchell. Print edition only
There's no trace of affectation to be found anywhere on Seasons on Earth -- Baird never sounds like she's putting on a style Read Review
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Meg Baird: Seasons On Earth
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