Over the first sixteen chart weeks of this year, we’ve already seen eight different #1 records on the NACC 200. This week the ninth chart-topper of 2023 ascends to the penthouse, matching 2020 for the soonest this has happened to this point in the year. And by climbing from 3-1 this week Canadian collective The New Pornographers reaches rarified territory in the NACC Chart records book becoming just the fifth act to score three or more #1s on the chart, matching Soccer Mommy and Dan Auerbach (with The Black Keys and The Arcs) and now one behind Jeff Tweedy (solo and with Wilco) and Andy Shauf (solo and with Foxwarren). Continue As A Guest (Merge) is the band’s ninth studio album. The band has three original members who have been along for the ride since 1997 (Carl Newman, Neko Case, and John Collins) though all current core members have been part of their three NACC 200 #1s.
Two albums reach the NACC Top 10 this week. Both rise back-to-back into the chart from their positions last week on the chart. The first is A Certain Ratio. Though we are unsure exactly what that ratio is, it’s one that has worked well for the band since it formed in 1977. The English five-piece recently released their eleventh LP, 1982 (Mute). As its name suggests, the album sonically harkens back to their early days and Pitchfork recently called the release their best since 1986’s Force. 1982 rises 14-8 this week.
Canadian twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn, who since 2020 has recorded as Softcult, enjoy this week’s second new Top 10 entry. Their third EP, See You In The Dark (Easy Life), rises 15-9. We first featured them last year when their second EP, Year Of The Snake, was our ‘biggest climber’ feature. The twins were part of an earlier group called Courage My Love that released two studio albums and a number of EPs from 2009 until they disbanded in 2020.
Making the highest debut on the NACC 200 this week is Chicago poet, singer, and songwriter Kara Jackson. She first came on the scene in 2019 with her debut EP, A Song For Every Chamber Of The Heart. That same year she was named the United States National Youth Poet Laureate, a title that has been bestowed annually to one young person that demonstrates skill in the arts, is a strong leader, and who is committed to social justice. Jackson’s debut LP, Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? (September) has given us our first opportunity to showcase this singular talent.
Nostalgia is reigning supreme recently here in our NACC Chart recap. Depeche Mode, Mudhoney, and A Certain Ratio’s success is not where it ends. The longtime English duo (both personally and professionally) of Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt, who have recorded as Everything But The Girl since 1982 are back after an incredibly long musical hiatus. A massive 24-year gap exists between their previous album, 1999’s Temperamental, and their eleventh LP, Fuse (Buzzin Fly/Verve). Best known for the 1994 international smash, “Missing,” the two didn’t stop making music over the past nearly quarter century. Thorn released four solo albums and wrote a memoir while Watt concentrated on DJing, remixing, running his label and self-publishing two books. They are back now with this week’s most-added album, collecting 59 Top 10 Adds and debuting on the NACC 200 at #66 and #25 at NACC Electronic.
The Beths lands a second week at #1 on the NACC Singles Chart this week with “Watching The Credits,” a song they recorded but didn’t include on their most recent LP, Expert In A Dying Field (which re-entered the NACC 200 this week). Taking ‘most-added single’ honors for the third time this year is Arlo Parks. The third preview track from her upcoming sophomore LP, The Soft Machine (due May 26), is called “Blades” and in addition to collecting the most Top 10 Adds for any single this week, the song debuts at #10 on NACC Singles. Only two other singles pick up enough Top 10 Adds to place inside the NACC 200 Top 30 Adds Chart. They come from Half Moon Run and Muna.
The current Top 5 overall NACC Adds, the genre chart-toppers, and the week’s most-added genre records are included below. In addition to rebounds to #1 at Folk, Blues, & Hip Hop there are new chart-toppers this week at NACC NEXT, R&B/Soul, Chill, & Heavy.
