We had a feeling last week that even though Bully ousted Arlo Parks from #1, the battle may have been won, but the war (so to speak) was not over, especially with both albums still gaining in points from the previous week. But wow, what a nail-biter it turned out to be! Arlo Parks led the NACC Building Chart from the get-go on Friday, but with 15 minutes to go today, Bully took the lead. Then, literally one minute before chart close, Arlo Parks pulled ahead again by less than five points! Certainly one of the tightest ever races for #1 we’ve seen. In the end, Parks’ My Soft Machine (Transgressive/PIAS) nabbed a third week on top, becoming one of only five albums on the NACC 200 to fall from #1 but return to the top. It also gives her sole possession (once again) of the title for ‘most-ever weeks atop the NACC 200’ with 15 cumulative weeks at #1 (one ahead of Soccer Mommy).
Three albums reach the NACC Top 10 this week. Detroit-based quartet Protomartyr leaps from 58-10 and Pittsburgh quartet Feeble Little Horse gallops from 17-6. But it’s last week’s most-added album from Deer Tick that makes the splashiest entry into the top tier. The Providence quartet has recorded eight LPs since their 2007 debut release. Their latest, Emotional Contracts (ATO), soars from 114-8 this week and they become just the second act this year (after Arlo Parks, of course) to climb into the Top 10 from outside the top 100 of the NACC 200 chart.
One of the more unique bands to call College and Non-Comm radio home is back. Hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland Sigur Rós formed in 1994. They perform their songs in Icelandic, English, and (what really sets them apart), in a language they call Vonlenska (basically their own made up language that fits to their music). The trio have released eight albums including Átta (BMG), their first new effort since 2013. The album jumps aboard the NACC 200 this week at #31, making it the highest debut of the week.
Rapper, actor, and social activist Michael Render, who the world knows better as Killer Mike, has also returned with his first solo album in over a decade. Though unlike Sigur Rós, Killer Mike has remained very active musically in the last 10 years. His project with El-P, Run The Jewels, released four albums in between Mike’s solo records. The most recent of which, RTJ4, reached #1 on the NACC 200 in 2020. Michael (Loma Vista/Concord) is Killer Mike’s fifth solo LP and first since 2012’s R.A.P. Music. It’s this week’s biggest climber on the NACC 200, leaping 147-33 and also climbs 5-1 at NACC Hip Hop.
We’ve featured the Baltimore duo Beach House quite a bit on our NACC Weekly Chart Recap. But the city birthed another very successful musical duo in 2006. Wye Oak is Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Having first met as high school classmates, the two have now recorded seven studio albums. Every Day Like The Last (Merge) is their latest and Wye Oak’s first since 2018. That album, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs, was the most-added album the week it was released. This week their new album enjoys the same accomplishment collecting 46 Top 10 Adds and debuts at #119 on the NACC 200.
English quartet Blur grabs a fourth straight week at #1 on NACC Singles with “The Narcissist,” the first single from their upcoming ninth LP, The Ballad Of Darren, due July 21. Theirs is the second-longest running #1 single on the chart in 2023. The superstar pairing of Beck And Phoenix has resulted in the new single “Odyssey.” It was a rare Top 10 overall adding single and collected 20 more adds than the next most-added single this week. The two will be co-headlining a tour together later this summer. Only one other single, from Slowdive, landed on the NACC 200 Top 30 Adds Chart this week.
