The second studio album for local indie-rock group Gang of Youths entitled “Go Farther in Lightness” becomes the five-piece from Sydney’s first No.1 on the ARIA Albums Chart this week.
“Go Farther in Lightness” becomes the 806th No.1 Album in Australia (Jan 1965 to 2017) and the 657th for ARIA (1983 to 2017), plus the 450th album to debut in the No.1 position and the 15th No.1 album for 2017 (we were up to #29 this time last year), and it’s also the first for the record label ‘Mosey Records’ in the No.1 position. It also becomes the first No.1 and now third Top 10 entry for the local act, whose debut set “The Positions” debuted and peaked at No.5 in late April of 2015, then they hit No.2 in August of 2016 with the EP “Let Me Be Clear”.
This is the fifth album title to feature the word ‘Go’ in its title, the last one being “Let Go’ by Avril Lavigne (9th December, 2002 for 7 wks), and it’s the first time that the words ‘Farther’ and ‘Lightness’ have made it to the top spot. The new No.1 album becomes the 271st by an Australian Act (solo, duo or group), the 363rd by a Group (local or overseas), and Gang of Youths are the 110th Australian act (solo, duo or group) to hit No.1 and the 62nd Australian Group to do so. Also with an Aussie debuting at the top last and this week, its the first time since late-Feb/early-March in 2017 when an Aussie took over the top spot from another local act, back then it was Busby Marou (27th Feb) followed the week after by The Waifs (6th March).
The aforementioned debut from last week was the first ever No.1 for Paul Kelly in “Life is Fine”, which is only down one place to No.2 this week, followed by another a single place drop to No.3 for Ed Sheeran’s “÷ (Divide)”, which is again down to its lowest position (so far) for a second time, having been this low four weeks ago on the last chart for July, 2017. Last weeks debut for Kesha and her third album “Rainbow” is down four places to No.7 and two soundtracks secure the lower end of the Top 10, with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2’ set down one to No.9 and the ‘Moana’ soundtrack dropping six places to No.10.
There are four more new entries to the Top 10 this week, with the third album for 2017 by local act King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard debuting within the Top 5, as the band come in at No.4 with their eleventh studio album “Sketches from Brunswick East”, following on from “Murder of the Universe” (HP-3, July) and “Flying Microtonal Banana” (HP-2, March), and this is the first time that a local band have released three albums in the one year that have all made the Top 10 and Top 5.
One place lower at No.5 is the fourth studio album and now second Top 10 entry for local deathcore act Thy Art is Murder entitled “Dear Desolation”, which follows on from their previous Top 10 entry “Holy War” which made it No.7 in July of 2015. Right after at No.6 is the second chart entry and fifth studio album for US rock band Brand New entitled “Science Fiction”. This becomes the bands first Top 10 entry, and follows on eight years after their last album and first entry here “Daisy” (HP-40, Oct 2009). The final Top 10 debut this week is the third album for Welsh pop-punk band Neck Deep and “The Peace and the Panic” coming in at No.8, also becoming their first Top 10 entry and now second overall entry, as two years ago this week they took their second album “Life’s Not Out to Get You” into the charts, peaking at No.28.
UP:
* With a fourth chart entry debuting over on the singles chart this week, Khalid sees his album “American Teen” climb a couple of places to land a new peak of No.19.
* Calvin Harris rises six places to No.21 with his “Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1” album.
* Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic” jumps up eleven spots to land at No.23 this week.
* During the past week there had been hints about the Friday issued Taylor Swift single, which seems to have helped her album “1989” to rise eight places to No.31.
* The new Justin Bieber entry at No.2 helps his former album “Purpose” to rise nine to No.36.
* The “Greatest Hits” for Queen is back up ten places to No.37, The Wiggles’ collection rises eleven to No.45, the INXS “Very Best of” is back up eighteen places to No.46, whilst further climbs occur for “50 Best Songs” for Play School (96 to 71), Cold Chisel (92 to 79) and Roy Orbison (97 to 87)
* London Grammar jump back up into the Top 50 with “Truth is a Beautiful Thing”, rising fifteen places to No.43.
* Pete Murray leaps up forty places to No.44 with his “Camacho” album.
* Post Malone previously peaked at No.49 with “Stoney”, which this week is back up five spots and lands at a new peak of No.48.
* The Amy Shark EP “Night Thinker” jumps back up twenty-six places to No.52.
* Stone Sour see their first post-debut rise with “Hydrograd” back up sixteen places to No.56.
* The first returning album this week comes back in at it’s former entry/peak position of No.75, “Mountain” by Richard Tognetti & Australian Chamber Orchestra, followed at No.95 by Maroon 5 with their “Singles Collection” and at No.97 The Beatles with “Sgt. Pepper’s”.
* Jay-Z is also back up for the first time, as “4:44” rises ten places to No.81.
DOWN:
* There are five albums leaving the Top 10 this week, first of which is “DAMN.” (HP-2, WI10-15a) for Kendrick Lamar, down five to No.11, “Melodrama” (HP-1, WI10-8a) for Lorde is also down five to No.12, Imagine Dragons’ “Evolve” (HP-4, WI10-6a) drops four to No.13 and then after being back in for one week, the Ed Sheeran album “x” (HP-1×8, WI10-104a) is down five to No.15, whilst the fifth and final Top 10 dropout is last weeks No.5 debut for Jen Cloher, which leaves the Top 100 after only a single week on the chart, and is now the highest placed album to leave the chart, previously it was dropout from #9.
* Ed Sheeran had three albums within the Top 20 last week, this week though his debut set “+” is back down six places to No.24.
* Carole King’s leap for “Tapestry” last week to No.11 recedes back down sixteen places to No.27 this week.
* Tyler, The Creator sees his “Flower Boy” set drop twelve places to No.34.
* There are now three Linkin Park albums left within the Top 100 this week, with “Hybrid Theory” down only five to No.38, but their most recent set “One More Light” is down seventeen to No.40 and “Meteora” dives seventeen places also, down to No.74.
* Vera Blue drops eighteen spots to land at No.50 with her “Perennial” album.
* There is a sixteen place drop for Dan Sultan’s Killer” album to No.51.
* Alice Cooper’s “Paranormal” album is down fifteen places to No.57, whilst another album that debuted alongside Alice four weeks ago in “Everything Now” by Arcade Fire is down twenty-six spots to No.62.
* The Ten Tenors’ album “Wish You Were Here” plummets thirty-four places to No.63.
* There is a twenty place drop for The Voice 2017 winner Judah Kelly’s album “Count on Me” to No.64.
* Whilst there is a nineteen place fall for Meg Mac’s “Low Blows” set to No.65.
* The Avici(01) EP that debuted at No.14 for Avicii last week is down fifty-three places to No.67.
* The Paul Kelly ‘Best of’ drops this week eighteen places to No.77, with the Guns N’ Roses “Greatest Hits” set down seventeen to No.78 and the Fleetwood Mac set down too (86 to 93).
* HAIM drops twenty places to No.82 with “Something to Tell You”, which could rise next week due to the vinyl release on Friday of the album.
* Last weeks No.13 debut for The Preatures of their second album “Girlhood” is down a massive seventy-six places this week to No.89.
* The Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole album for “The Great Country Songbook Vol.II” is down twenty-five places to No.92, and another local in Dean Lewis sees his “Same Kind of Different” album drop fourteen places to land at No.96.
* Last weeks debut for the final Glen Campbell album “Adois” is this week down forty-three places to No.98, and one of his collections in “20 Golden Greats” drops twenty-eight spots to No.99.
* Not only does the Jen Cloher album leave the Top 100 from No.5, but also leaving the chart from last weeks Top 50 were “You” (EP) by Dodie #17, Kate Miller-Heidke’s “Live at the Sydney Opera House” from #31 and Justice for the Damned with “Dragged Through the Dirt” #37.
FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #20 (LP#2) – Rocky’s Diner by Sarah McLeod is the first new album of material for the former Superjesus lead singer in twelve years, and written and recorded in New York, it follows on from her debut set “Beauty Was a Tiger” which hit No.31 in late September of 2005.
* #26 (LP#5) – Painted Ruins by Grizzly Bear is the third albums chart entry for the US indie rock band who last charted in late September of 2012 with their fourth album “Shields” (HP-17), prior to which they hit No.41 in January 2010 with their third set “Veckatimest”.
* #30 (LP#5) – To the Bone by Steven Wilson is the first solo chart entry for the former lead singer of Porcupine Tree, with the prog-rock musician and record producer having released a new album every two years since starting his solo career in 2009.
* #35 (MixT#2) – Still Striving (mixtape) by A$AP Ferg features tracks by Meek Mill, Cam’ron, Lil’ Yachty, Migos, A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Rick Ross and Snoop Dogg amongst its fourteen mixed tracks, and this becomes his second chart entry here, as his second album “Always Strive and Prosper” made it to No.16 in early May of 2016.
* #68 (LP#4) – A Fever Dream by Everything Everything is the fourth album and second entry for the British band, who previously charted with their third album “Get to Heaven” (HP-29, June 2015).
Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
