It was clear St. Vincent had a monster record on her hands with the attention advanced tracks received followed by her landing the third highest NACC 200 debut of 2017. MASSEDUCTION wasted no time vaulting to #1 (13-2-1) and this week, it settles in for a very much expected second week on top. St. Vincent’s star has been on the rise with each one of her releases. 2014’s self-titled effort won her a Grammy for Best Alternative Album and she’s experienced her first substantive airplay outside the College and Community world with “New York” and “Los Ageless.” But as is so often the case, it’s independent radio that can lay claim to supporting an artist well before the masses became familiar.
Taking two of our five features this week is the final new record from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. By leaping from 82-8 this week, Soul Of A Woman scores both the biggest climb into the Top 10 and also the NACC 200’s biggest overall climb. Congrats to Daptone and Distiller for the jump. This coming Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of Sharon Jones’ death at 60. Make sure to tune into the Tonight Show this Friday when The Roots and The Dap-Kings team up for a special Sharon Jones tribute performance.
The NACC 200’s highest debut this week is from Bloomington, IN quartet, Hoops. The band formed in 2011 as a solo project of lead singer Drew Auscherman and expanded to a full group in 2014. It wasn’t until the release of Tape 2 in 2015 that the band broke through when it became the darling of music hype blogs. Hoops signed to Fat Possum Records in 2016 and released their eponymous EP, which was followed this past May by their first full-length, Routines. This latest release, Tapes #1-3 put all that pre-Fat Possum music together in a catch-up compilation. Debuting at #59, it’s actually the lowest debuting, highest debut of the year. But as they say in sports, a win is a win! Kudos to Fat Possum and Planetary.
Enjoying this year’s most runaway top add honors is Fever Ray, the solo moniker for Karin Dreijer Andersson of Swedish duo, The Knife. Unlike many weeks where two or more records jockey for #1, Fever Ray accumulated near 50 more Top 10 Adds than it’s next competitor. Andersson won universal acclaim for her 2009 Fever Ray release, which landed on a slew of Best of 2009 lists including Top 10 placements from The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Pitchfork, NME and Drowned In Sound. Her new album, Plunge, is enjoying a similar reception, already placing in the current Top 5 of the best reviewed albums of 2017. Climbing 87-42 on the NACC 200 this week, expect a lofty ascent, perhaps into the Top 10, next week.
When we have one album take two of our feature honors we have an opportunity to shine a light on another album. There was no clear choice based on a close runner-up in adds, climbing, or highest debut, which is how we usually pick one. Still, one record seemed an obvious choice when we looked further: Take Me Apart. It comes from DC-born Kelela Mizanekristos, who goes just by her first name professionally. A second generation Ethiopian American, Kelela first came on the scene in 2013 with her Cut 4 Me mixtape, which made numerous year-end lists. A 2015 EP followed as well as numerous album guest appearances including features on 2017 releases from Gorillaz & Solange. Take Me Apart (which spends a second week in the Top 10 this week) is her debut LP and holds the distinction of being the only album to appear on the NACC 200, Non-Comm, NEXT, Hip Hop, and Electronic Charts simultaneously this week (hence our obvious choice wording).
NACC 200 Chart: Top 5 ADDS
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# | ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL | # OF ADDS
1] FEVER RAY Plunge [Mute] //120//
2] TWIN PEAKS Sweet ’17 Singles Series, Vol. 2 [Grand Jury] //71//
3] FITS All Belief Is Paradise [Father/Daughter] //70//
4] DAPPLED CITIES IIIII [Chugg] //66//
5] THE SHES All Female Rock And Roll Quatret [Empty Cellar] //53//
#1 On NACC Genre Charts:
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GENRE | ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL
NON-COMM: BECK Colors [Capitol]
NACC NEXT: BECK Colors [Capitol]
ELECTRONIC: ODESZA A Moment Apart [Counter]
HEAVY: CONVERGE The Dusk in Us [Epitaph]
HIP HOP: YOUNG RJ Blaq RoyalT [Ne’Astra]
JAZZ: BLUE NOTE ALL STARS Our Point Of View [Blue Note]
FOLK: MARGO PRICE All American Made [Third Man]
WORLD: LEE SCRATCH PERRY AND SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM Super Ape Returns To Conquer [Subatomic Sound]