Be The Cowboy, from Mitski, holds down the top spot on the NACC 200 for a fifth straight week. In doing so, her Dead Oceans release becomes just the fourth record to spend five or more weeks atop the chart. All four of these albums share something else in common: they all belong to female solo artists or female-fronted bands. Alvvays, led by Molly Rankin (and shout-out to keyboardist Kerri MacLellan as well), did it first with a five week run last fall. St. Vincent enjoyed six weeks on top at the very end of 2017. Courtney Barnett ruled for seven weeks this summer. And now Mitski joins this elite list with her five week chart-topping residency. Death Cab For Cutie, Wild Nothing, and Blood Orange will all challenge for #1 next week along with one other fresh contender…
The lone new entry into the NACC Top 10 this week comes from the legendary Paul McCartney. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and 18-time Grammy winner has been hailed by the Guinness Book of Word Records as both the “most honored composer and performer in music” and “the most successful songwriter” of all time. He has written or co-written 32 #1 Billboard Hot 100 singles. Egypt Station (Capitol), McCartney’s 18th solo studio album, became his first #1 album in 36 years when it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 last week. It’s also his first album to ever debut at #1. On the NACC 200, the album leaps from 11-5.
The week’s biggest mover (rising 148-25) comes from one of the most acclaimed names in electronic music: Aphex Twin. Since his 1992 Aphex Twin debut, Richard David James has released six LPs and 12 EPs, including his latest, Collapse, out on Warp Records. But James is far more prolific than that, releasing a total of eight LPs and 41 EPs when music released under AFX and a number of other aliases are factored in. The Guardian, in 2001, called James “the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music.” Other electronic artists such as Daft Punk and Skrillex have mentioned his influence on their music and Thom Yorke, in a 2013 interview, called Aphex Twin his biggest influence.
The NACC 200’s highest debut this week comes from Brisbane, Australia trio The Goon Sax. The band’s 2016 debut, Up To Anything, as well as this sophomore release, We’re Not Talking, have both been released on Wichita Recordings. Fun fact: Band member Louis Forster is the son of Go-Betweens co-founder Robert Forster. And what of that peculiar name? A ‘goon sack’ is Australian slang for a silver plastic bag of booze. The band’s album debuts at #28 on the NACC 200 this week.
This week’s most-added record comes from Lillie West, who performs under the name Lala Lala. The Lamb (Hardly Art) is her sophomore release and it follows her 2016 debut, Sleepyhead, a record West admits she has no real connection to and doesn’t consider a real album. She was drinking a lot at the time and has since gotten sober. West was born in California but grew up in London before returning to LA at the age of 12. While living in Chicago her apartment was robbed while she slept. That coupled with the death of a close friend left her feeling paranoid and unsafe. The Lamb chronicles the songs she wrote to deal with all these things, but instead of being a downer, the album focuses on striving to fix problems rather than wallow in them.
Thom Yorke leads the NACC Singles Chart for a second week with “Suspirium,” the first song from his score for the movie Suspiria. The week’s most added single comes from Australian quartet Amyl And The Sniffers with their new song “Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled).” The band is a part of a new wave of punk from Australia’s East Coast.
You can find the Top 20 of the NACC 200, the Top 5 of the NACC Adds Chart, and all of this week’s #1 genre releases and most-added genre records below. This week there are new #1s at Jazz and Folk and returns to #1 at World and Hip Hop.
Your eyes don’t have to be the only way you experience NACC’s musical highlights. Follow the ‘College Radio Weekly Highlights’ playlist on Spotify (here) and let your ears in on the action too.
NACC 200 Chart: Top 5 ADDS
# | ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL | # OF ADDS
1) LALA LALA The Lamb [Hardly Art] //90//
2) MARISSA NADLER For My Crimes [Sacred Bones] //63//
3) JOYCE MANOR Million Dollars To Kill Me [Epitaph] //56//
4) BROCKHAMPTON iridescence [Question Everything/RCA] //52//
5*) CHISTINE AND THE QUEENS Chris [Capitol] //45//
5*) CUMULUS Comfort World [Trans-]
* denotes tie
#1 On NACC Genre Charts:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
NON-COMM: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Thank You For Today [Atlantic]
NACC NEXT: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Thank You For Today [Atlantic]
HEAVY: PIG DESTROYER Head Cage [Relapse]
ELECTRONIC: DORIAN CONCEPT The Nature Of Imitation [Brainfeeder]
HIP HOP: DENZEL CURRY TA1300 [Loma Vista/Concord]
JAZZ: ENRIQUE HANEINE The Minds Mural [Elegant Walk]
FOLK: VARIOUS ARTISTS King Of The Road: A Tribute To Roger Miller [BMG]
WORLD: ANGELIQUE KIDJO Remain In Light [Kraven Works]
CHILL: DARRELL KELLEY “Unity” [Self-Released]
BLUES: SHAMEKIA COPELAND America’s Child [Alligator]
LATIN: CHANCHA VIA CIRCUITO Bienadventuranza [Wonderwheel]
Most-Added @ NACC Genre:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
ELECTRONIC: CHRIS LIEBING Burn Slow [Mute]
FOLK: BLACK LILLIES, THE Stranger To Me [Thirty Tigers]
HEAVY: CLAY PEOPLE, THE Demon Hero [Magnetic Eye]
HIP HOP: ELLAMAEFLOSSIE “Ebony Stoned” (Single) [Black17/Red]
JAZZ (tie): ELSA NILSSON AND JON COWHERD After Us [Bumblebee Collective]
WILLIE NELSON My Way [Legacy]
WORLD: ILHAN ERSAHIN’S ISTANBUL SESSIONS Solar Plexus [Nublu]
NACC Singles:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
#1 SINGLE: THOM YORKE “Suspirium” [XL]
#1 MOST-ADDED SINGLE:
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS “Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled)” [Flightless/ATO]