25 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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Ninth full-length studio album from the London-based electronic techno duo Andy Turner and Ed Handley
6.7
For a new listener or a longtime fan, this is one of the records of the year so far and a worthy addition to a quite excellent discography Read Review
On their new record The Digging Remedy Plaid provide us with one of the most satisfying examples of the Plaid sound yet recorded Read Review
A triumphantly trippy return. Print edition only
You nearly always know what you're going to get with Plaid albums Read Review
The best IDM music takes on a life of its own, presenting as a living, breathing organism that gives life to its intention. Plaid flirt with this phenomenon regularly on ‘The Digging Remedy’ Read Review
Plaid have lost none of their creative instincts even after all these years Read Review
What's evident is the duo's zeal for absorbing and processing whatever is in their field that will help expand their creative reach Read Review
They make highly listenable melodic IDM, warm and playful. Their latest album doesn't rip up the blueprint Read Review
It may be a while yet before Plaid are able to once again make a statement with one of their releases, but there’s enough here to suggest that another left-field turn may pay dividends in the future Read Review
Plaid remain enjoyable, if a little stuck in a rut Read Review
Occasionally, they do demonstrate some bite Read Review
They remain masters of electronic mood. Print edition only
The same skipping beats, slightly ghostly melodies and skewed dance music reference points that populated their work back in the ’90s Read Review
It's not enough to dislodge a sense of complacency that feels out of step with their reputation as innovators Read Review
The contents become increasingly bland as we progress further into the album Read Review
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Plaid: The Digging Remedy
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