It’s been just under sixteen years since the debut album for Australian dance/hip-hop/remix act The Avalanches was released, but this week their second long-coming album entitled “Wildflower” debuts at the top of the ARIA Albums Chart.
“Wildflower” becomes the 773rd No.1 Album in Australia (1965 to 2016) and the 624th for ARIA (July 1983 to 2016) and the 419th to debut at the top of the Albums Chart, plus the 24th No.1 album of 2016 (this time last years we had achieved fifteen No.1 albums).
“Since I Left You” was The Avalanches first album which entered the chart in the first week of December 2000, eventually peaking at No.21 in late October of 2001, and this week the album leaps back up thirty-three places to No.25. But the new sample-heavy album becomes the bands first Top 10 album in the process, plus this is the first time that the word ‘Wildflower’ has appeared in the No.1 spot, (first for ‘Flower’ too, but ‘Wild’ is the fourth after last weeks third by Delta) and this is the fourth time that the title “Wildflower(s)” has charted, the previous best being the Tom Petty (solo, “Wildflowers”) album which made it to No.38 in late March of 1995, whilst there was also sets by Sheryl Crow (Wildflower, HP-98, Oct 2005) and Catherine Britt (Little Wildflower, HP-73, Jan 2008).
A look at the decade so far for Australian Acts at No.1 shows that this year could become the best this decade for local acts scoring number one albums, as the below table shows.
2010 – 3 #1’s
2011 – 2 #1’s
2012 – 7 #1’s
2013 – 13 #1’s (best so far)
2014 – 12 #1’s
2015 – 11 #1’s
2016 – 12 #1’s so far this year
And that leads me to mention also that “Wildflower” by The Avalanches becomes the 202nd No.1 album by an Australian act to hit the top of our charts and the twelfth this year, plus the group also becomes the 102nd Australian Act to make it to the top, and the new No.1 album is also the 349th by a Group (local or overseas) and the 58th by an Australian Group. One further table of note are the Australian groups that have reached the top during this decade…
2010 – 3 #1s by Aussie groups
2011 – none
2012 – 3 #1’s by Aussie groups
2013 – 7 #1’s by Aussie groups
2014 – 5 #1’s by Aussie groups
2015 – 6 #1’s by Aussie groups
2016 – 6 #1’s by Aussie groups so far this year.
Two of last weeks top three debuts survive for another week within the Top 10, as “Wings of the Wild” for Delta Goodrem drops a place to No.2 and is now Gold (●) in sales, and “California” by Blink 182 is also down one spot to No.3 (plus is the new No.1 in the USA this week). Back up one spot apiece are Adele with her “25” album and “Lemonade” by Beyonce which was just nominated for four Emmy Awards late this past week, the sets are at No.4 and No.5 respectively.
Dropping two places to No.6 is “The Getaway” by Red Hot Chili Peppers and remaining at No.7 for a fifth straight week is the Keith Urban album “Ripcord”, which by staying within the Top 10 for a tenth straight week is now his second longest running Top 10 album after his collection “The Story So Far” which stayed for eleven weeks initially and then a twelfth and final Top 10 week thirty-nine weeks later in February of 2013.
After debuting at No.12 last week the new Hillsong United album “Of Dirt and Grace-Live from the Land” climbs four places to move up to No.8, and this now becomes the 21st Top 10 album for the church group(s) including their Young & Free, Chapel and United banners. Debuting at No.9 is the fourth studio album for US hip-hop artist ScHoolboy Q entitled “Blank Face LP”, and by debuting within the Top 10 it becomes his first album to reach the top ten here, plus beats the No.11 peak that his third album (and first chart entry here) “Oxymoron” (March 2014) achieved and climbing back up one spot to No.10 is Drake with his former No.1 set “Views”, now racking up a tenth week within the Top 10.
UP: Last week the ABC screened a fifty year look-back at the TV show Play School, which has helped the kids show’s album “50 Best Songs” to jump back up six places to its former peak of No.17, and another kids group in The Wiggles see their “Best of” (HP-16) album rise back up seven to No.19 this week. As I mentioned above The Avalanches debut set from late 2000 “Since I Left You” (HP-21) charges back up thirty-three spots to No.25 and now that their new single “Hair” is at No.11 the Little Mix album “Get Weird” rises back up three to No.26 this week. “Bloom” for Rufus is back up six to No.38 and returning to the Top 100 at No.39 is the RHCP’s album “Californication, and albums climbing into the Top 50 this week are Elvis Presley with “If I Can Dream” (53 to 45), the David Bowie compilation “Nothing Has Changed” (52 to 46) and The 1975 former No.1 album “I Like it When You Sleep…” (67 to 47), with the Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours” returning to the Top 100 at No.50 this week.
DOWN: The four albums leaving the Top 10 are led by Meghan Trainor and “Thank You” (HP-3, WI10-8, now Gold (●) in sales) down two to No.11, “A Moon Shaped Pool” (HP-2×2, WI10-5) for Radiohead, which by staying for five weeks in the Top 10 is now the groups longest run within the Top 10 here in Australia. Two of last weeks Top 10 debuts drop out this week, with “The Speed of Sound” (EP) (HP-3) for In Stereo dropping fifteen to No.18 and the self-titled debut album for French act Christine & the Queens (HP-8) descends fourteen places to No.22. After jumping back up last week, The Hilltop Hoods’ “Drinking…, Walking…: Restrung” is down ten to No.29 and halving its position from last week is “Americana” by Diesel, down fifteen to No.30 this week. “Conscious” for Broods falls ten to No.31, “Classic Carpenters” for Dami Im falls eleven to No.33, “Thick as Thieves” by The Temper Trap is down eight to No.41 and the Eric Clapton “Crossroads Revisited…” is down thirteen to No.43. Falling into the lower fifty is the soundtrack for “Me Before You” (41 to 56), the self-titled “case/lang/veirs” (38 to 58), “Cry Baby” for Melanie Martinez (45 to 60), “Guardians of the Galaxy” soundtrack (46 to 75), Josh Pyke’s “Live at the Sydney Opera House” (27 to 79) and the debut album for Grace entitled “FMA” (32 to 99), whilst falling out of the Top 100 from last weeks fifty are Fleetwood Mac and their “Very Best of” (#34), “The Bride” for Bat for Lashes (#40) and “Blacksummers’ Night” for Maxwell (#49).
UK act Biffy Clyro see their seventh album “Ellipsis” debut at the top of the UK Album chart this week, and here the set debuts at No.15, becoming their second chart entry here, as their sixth set “Opposites” (Feb 2013) made it to No.22, so this now becomes their highest charting album here. The fourth and final Top 50 debut this week is the tenth album for Switchfoot entitled “Where the Light Shines Through”, which enters at No.34 and becomes the bands sixth chart entry, as all of their albums have charted here since album #4 (apart from #7), and by debuting so high this becomes groups second highest charting album behind their fifth album from October 2005 “Nothing is Sound” which peaked at No.25.
Lower 50: With Fifth Harmony in the country last week on a promo tour, their latest album “7/27” (HP-8) jumps back up thirty-two spots to No.51, and the “Love Child Season 3” Soundtrack climbs back up nine to No.55. Hillsong Young & Free climb up fifteen spots to No.62 with “Youth Revival” and “Pure McCartney” for Paul McCartney is back up eight to No.65, whilst returning at No.71 is the cast recording for “Matilda: The Musical” (HP-55). Kate Ceberano was a guest on “HYBPA?” this past week, and her “Anthology” album is back up thirteen to No.78, Iggy Pop appeared and performed on the Graham Norton Show screened here last Friday (8th July), and that helps his “Post Pop Depression” (HP-7) set to return at No.86, the classic 1988 self-titled album for Tracy Chapman returns at No.93, “+” by Ed Sheeran is back in at No.96, James Blake returns at No.97 with “The Colour in Anything” (HP-16); and with one out one has to return, so the Fleetwood Mac “Greatest Hits” is back in at No.98 and the newly announced November tour for Rodriguez helps his debut 1970 album “Cold Fact” (HP-11) to return at #100 this week.
The fourth studio album (and fifth released) for Canadian act BadBadNotGood entitled “IV” debuts at No.54, and it becomes the bands second chart entry here, as the collaboration album with Ghostface Killah entitled “Sour Soul” made it to No.54 in 2015, so both of their chart entries have reached the same peak (so far). The fifth EP for UK based act Aphex Twin becomes his first to chart here, entitled “Cheetah” it comes in at No.63 and becomes his third albums chart entry in Australia. The two finals acts that debut in the lower fifty are both making their first chart appearance, firstly is three piece Chicago rock band Chevelle with their eight studio album entitled “The North Corridor” coming in at No.69 and the debut EP for local Triple J unearthed act Missy Lancaster simply entitled “Missy” is new at No.81.
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