For the first time ever, five solo artists hold down all our the NACC features (#1, biggest climb into the Top 10, highest debut, biggest overall climb, and most added). And to make it an even cooler feat, all are female artists!
After three weeks at #1, Beach House cedes the top spot to Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett. She peaked at #3 on the NACC 200 last year with her collaborative Kurt Vile album, Lotta Sea Lice, and now reaches #1 with her second solo LP, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Her Mom + Pop release rises 2-1 this week (as well as topping NACC Next & Non-Comm) and keeps a solo female or female-fronted band at #1 on the NACC 200 for 14 of the last 15 weeks. Waiting in the wings for a challenge for the top next week are Parquet Courts (4-3) and Father John Misty (17-4).
Also lining up for a possible #1 run is indie darling, Neko Case. Technically born in Alexandria, VA while her father was stationed there, Case considers Tacoma, WA home, though she now lives in Vermont. Case released her first & second albums under the name Neko Case & Her Boyfriends in 1997 & 2000 respectively. Five more solo albums (as well as a collaborative album with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs in 2016) have followed, including her latest, Hell-On. Case is also one of the founding members of The New Pornographers, who have released seven albums since 2000. Her new Anti- release leaps 61-7 this week. Along with Father John Misty and Neko Case, one other act reaches the Top 10: Hatchie. Her debut EP, Sugar & Spice rises 20-9.
The NACC 200’s highest debut comes from Jess Abbott who goes by the stage name Tancred. Strangely enough, her former band has been featured in our chart recaps a couple times in the last month: Now, Now. They just reached the NACC Top 10 last week. Abbott was the guitarist for Now, Now from 2009-2017. As Tancred, she has released four LPs, including her latest, Nightstand (which is her second Polyvinyl release). It opens at #25 on the chart this week.
Blasting from 180-26 on the NACC 200 (to land this week’s biggest move on the chart) is Kadhja Bonet. Born in California and the middle of seven kids, Bonet studied classical music growing up and taught herself to play guitar. Arranged, produced, performed & mixed all on her own, Bonet’s sophomore album, Childqueen, has been met with critical praise, landing inside Metacritic’s Top 50 of the best-reviewed albums released this year.
Rounding out our all solo-female NACC-features is Melody’s Echo Chamber. The project is the brainchild of French musician Melody Prochet. Her eponymous debut LP was produced by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. Fans have had to wait six long years for a sophomore release. Bon Voyage was planned for release last year until a serious fall sidelined Prochet. She suffered a brain aneurysm and broken vertebrae in her neck and spine. Now thankfully recovered, the Fat Possum release has seen the light of day and the reception on the NACC 200 certainly shows it was eagerly awaited.
Check out our Genre Charts HERE. We have new #1s this week at NACC Next & Hip Hop.