Before we dive into this week’s chart recap, we wanted to recognize the passing of the legendary Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The first woman ever to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an 18-time Grammy winner, and a Presidential Medal of Honor recipient, Franklin was a trailblazer for women in music as well as a civil rights leader. Her influence on popular R&B music cannot be overstated. She landed on the NACC 200 earlier this year with her 42nd album, A Brand New Me. RIP.
The recent logjam at the top of the chart has been broken up in the biggest way possible with an out-of-left-field leap to #1 by Philadelphia trio Thin Lips, who rocket 9-1 on the NACC 200 with their Lame-O release, Chosen Family. Knocking Gorillaz from the top after one week and leapfrogging two other records that seemed more in line to reach #1 this week from The Dirty Projectors and Ty Segall & White Fence, Thin Lips have certainly laid down the gauntlet! Absolutely no guesses where things will go next week as we’re sure the fire will be lit under people who didn’t expect this turn of events. Should be fun to watch!
We’re getting a little impatient about not receiving this free cake we’ve been expecting. Will the third plea be the charm? Only Katie Bennett of Free Cake For Every Creature knows! Her Double Double Whammy release soars from 19-9 on the NACC 200 this week to score the only brand new entry in the Top 10 this week. Interestingly though, it’s the third week-in-a-row with a rebounding record climbing back into the Top 10. Two weeks ago it was Johnny Marr, last week it was Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (who remain inside the Top 10 this week), and Snail Mail this week edge back up 11-10 after dropping 5-11 last week.
Last week’s most-added record from Oh Sees blasts onto the NACC 200 this week at #12, matching Beach House for the highest debut of 2018! Primary member, John Dwyer, began using the name Orinoka Crash Suite as early as 1997, but the band’s first album, under OCS, was not released until 2003. Twenty more albums have followed with Dwyer being the through line. The other three current members of the band joined the lineup in 2014, 2015, and 2017 respectively. Oh Sees will now try to improve on the peak of their previous LP, Memory Of A Cut Off Head, which reached #3 on the NACC 200 in January, with Smote Reverser (Castle Face).
This week’s biggest mover on the NACC 200 is the largest climb on the chart since May. Advancing 185-15 are Auckland, New Zealand quartet, The Beths. Led by Elizabeth Stokes, the band’s debut LP, Future Me Hates Me, has critics falling over themselves to praise its hook-filled indie rock, many referring to this album as the sound of a band on their 3rd or 4th release or as the sound of a ‘greatest hits’ collection. High praise, indeed. Signed to Carpark Records, the band certainly seems poised to land their first NACC Top 10 album as soon as next week.
The most-added record of the week comes from Mitski Miyawaki, known simply as Mitski, with her fifth album Be The Cowboy (Dead Oceans). Mitski, who was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother, has enjoyed wildly positive critical acclaim for her music. Her previous LP, 2016’s Puberty 2, landed on numerous ‘Top 10 Albums of the Year’ lists including Time, Stereogum, Paste, and The A.V. Club. Be The Cowboy is already one of the Top 10 best-reviewed albums of 2018, and it collects the most Top 10 adds since Father John Misty in early June.
Returning to #1 on the the NACC Single Chart this week is “Dark Saturday” from Canadian quartet Metric. Led by charismatic lead singer Emily Haines, the band spends a third non-consecutive week on top. The most added single of the week comes from Cat Power. “Woman” (which features Lana Del Rey) is a taste of her 10th album, Wanderer, due out in October.
NACC 200 Chart: Top 5 ADDS
————————————————————
# | ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL | # OF ADDS
1) MITSKI Be The Cowboy [Dead Oceans] //96//
2) WHITE DENIM Performance [City Slang] //79//
3) CULLEN OMORI The Diet [Sub Pop] //61//
4) DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Thank You For Today [Atlantic] //59//
5) RUBBLEBUCKET Sun Machine [Grand Jury] //56//
#1 On NACC Genre Charts:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
NON-COMM: GORILLAZ The Now Now [Parlophone/Warner Bros.]
NACC NEXT: GORILLAZ The Now Now [Parlophone/Warner Bros.]
HEAVY: DEE SNIDER For The Love Of Metal [Napalm]
ELECTRONIC: ROSS FROM FRIENDS Family Portrait [Brainfeeder]
HIP HOP: DENZEL CURRY TA1300 [Loma VIsta/Concord]
JAZZ: JOHN COLTRANE Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album [Impulse]
FOLK: ELIZA GILKYSON Secularia [Red House]
WORLD: ANGELIQUE KIDJO Remain In Light [Kraven Works]
CHILL: UNDER THE LAKE Jazz, Groove & Attitude [Mind In Overdrive]
BLUES: SHEMEKIA COPELAND America’s Child [Alligator]
LATIN: CHANCHA VIA CIRCUITO Bienadventuranza [Wonderwheel]
Most-Added @ NACC Genre:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
ELECTRONIC (tie): DEVON WELSH Dream Songs [You Are Accepted]
RYAN HEMSWORTH “Think About U” [Last Gang]
FOLK (tie): DAN NAVARRO Shed My Skin [Red Hen]
ELIZA GILKYSON Secularia [Red House]
IRON & WINE Weed Garden (Advance Tracks) [Sub Pop]
HEAVY (tie): BLACK MIRRORS Look Into The Black Mirror [Napalm]
LEATHER II [Divebomb]
HIP HOP: DARRELL KELLEY “Unity” (Single) [Self-Released]
JAZZ: STEVE TURRE The Very Thought Of You [Smoke Sessions]
WORLD (tie): MARIACHI REYNA DE LOS ANGELES Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles [Smithsonian Folkways]
TURBANS, THE “Aman Gaudi Remix” (Single) [Six Degrees]
NACC Singles:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
#1 SINGLE: METRIC “Dark Saturday” [MMI]
#1 MOST-ADDED SINGLE: CAT POWER “Woman” (feat. Lana Del Rey) [Self-Released]