11 November 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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Sixth album of blues / folk from London-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
7.4
Often these songs possess a giddy charm that suggest a sleepy early hours stroll along the seafront, their protagonist seeming to feel an affinity with the world in its most natural state Read Review
With Garden Of Ashes he secures his position as not just a musician’s musician, but one who looks set to grow a wider following Read Review
It might take you a few listens (and the knowledge that he once collaborated with The Orb) but he has a fine way with a mellow groove Read Review
Rueful, ruminative and ultimately hypnotic, Garden Of Ashes sings a welcome blues for the coming apocalypse. Print edition only
Singular aural magic from today's mood of global dread. Print edition only
The music sounds as if it has been dredged up with an immense effort. The grindstone is relentless but has rewarding results Read Review
Loose, heady and sensual by turns, Garden of Ashes surveys both the parlous state of the world and blasted inner landscapes with resonant instrumentation, rattlesnake percussion and a thousand-yard stare Read Review
An album that is perfect to listen to out on the porch as you sit back and enjoy the sun going down as you savour on that perfect glass of bourbon Read Review
Garwood sings constantly about suffering under a hot sun; his voice beautifully captures the exhaustion that comes with over exposure Read Review
‘Garden Of Ashes’ is redolent of a muggy swamp and just as easy to sink into Read Review
Despite its heady beauty, a gloomy fatefulness also shapes this set. Print edition only
While everything sounds lovely and moody – understated desert blues for a night in without the smartphone – beware the risk that it might send you to literal sleep, too Read Review
It can make you wish he were more chaotic and melancholic Read Review
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Duke Garwood: Garden of Ashes
Django Django Doveland
Django Django would appear to have refreshed their approach and challenged themselves to try out previously unconsidered melodic avenues The Arts Desk
Print edition only Uncut
Gilla Band Pugnello
Somewhere amidst the anarchy of Pugnello, there are gems waiting to be found. Unearthing them is well worth your time Still Listening
Greg Freeman All Set The Bone
Existentialism has a sound (and it’s hard to ignore) with Greg Freeman’s introspective All Set The Bone Still Listening
U2 Carnaval de Luz
Carnaval De Luz finds U2 50 years after their formation with the same four members and the same desire to shake things up. The album provides a convincing answer to the question of why they keep doing what they do XS Noize
Fontaines D.C. Dopamine Chamber
Fontaines D.C. push deeper into synthetic territory on Dopamine Chamber, balancing stadium-sized melodies with restless experimentation and darker texture Record Collector
They sound ambitious and engaged in their 50th year, swinging for the fences and hitting more targets than not. There’s still some gas in the tank Record Collector
La Roux Old Flames
Print edition only Record Collector
Back with her first new music in six years, La Roux's new sound explores facets of R'n'B and Europop to varying degrees of success The Skinny
La Roux turns to 90s R&B on a fourth album shaped by the end of a 17-year relationship, finding room for new beginnings beneath its layered production Still Listening
Print edition only Rolling Stone UK
Devastating moments are dressed up with warm production and kinetic 00s R&B in the now quiff-less singer’s grownup fourth album The Guardian
Elly Jackson returns with heartfelt pop songs about breaking up, resentment, vulnerability and all that entails musicOMH
Ditching erratic experimentation for an ambient concept, the indie shapeshifters' sixth album is their most coherent in years musicOMH
Doveland sounds less like a reduction of Django Django’s musical vocabulary than a more relaxed demonstration of how much they possess PopMatters
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