27 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 solo album of electronic pop from Kristin Welchez, lead singer and founder of Dum Dum Girls
7.0
‘X-Communicate’ would’ve been seen as too much of a stylistic divergence had it been released as a Dum Dum Girls record, but as a personal rebirth, subject matter and all? It fits the bill very neatly indeed Read Review
X-Communicate is all about Welchez allowing herself room to grow as a multifarious artist who has the drive, determination and talent to pull off anything she sets her mind to Read Review
With the synths upfront in the mix, Welchez makes several overtures to 80s and 90s alternative pop history - new wave, English guitar rock, Saint Etienne - but filters them through themes that feel very much of the moment Read Review
It’s an opportunity for Kristin to skin shed (great song by the way) her Dee Dee persona for another that also feels natural Read Review
In her latest transformation, Kristin Welchez leaves behind Dee Dee and the Dum Dum Girls for new alter ego Kristin Control, foregoing DDG's garage-band cool for sleek synth pop Read Review
It’s left the singer’s sonic presence stronger than ever Read Review
Her sound might be more poppier than in the Dum Dum Girls, but the one thing that matters is still there: she’s still trouble Read Review
While it may not be her strongest album, it’s an interesting new direction Read Review
The one-nature of the wracked, robotic torch songs does wear thin by closer Smoke Rings, however. Print edition only
It's hard not to think that either she just hasn't perfected this style yet or it's a one-off detour. Only time will tell, but wherever Dee Dee or Kristin goes, this album proves that it's well worth keeping up with her output Read Review
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Kristin Kontrol: X-Communicate
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