The Chart Show: alt-J hold onto #1 beating Belle and Sebastian by narrowest of margins
by Mark Wheat
February 19, 2015
Belle and Sebastian missed grabbing the top spot by the narrowest of margins this week. We dive deeper into Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance as our Album of the Week. In his well-considered and loving review, longtime fan Mac Wilson urges you to consider buying the deluxe vinyl edition which elevates it from a ranking in the third tier of their work right to the very top!
Submit your Chart Show ballot this week for a chance to win tickets to see Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Fitzgerald Theatre on Sunday, March 22!
Modest Mouse hold on to the bronze medal position for the third week in a row. On Monday they released "The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box," the fourth single off Strangers to Ourselves, due March 17.
There are six brand new entries this week!
Robert Plant returns with another track from one of my favorite albums of last year, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. Plant's spent a bit of time in Texas as of late, and tonight the NME Awards 2015 with Austin, Texas show in London will honor his buddy Jimmy Page with a one-off Rock 'n' Roll Soul Award. NME editor Mike Williams says, "There is nobody in popular culture quite like Jimmy Page." Jimmy's a fan of British duo Royal Blood who will perform at the ceremony.
Catfish and the Bottlemen crash into the Chart at #11 just ahead of their show at 7th St. Entry this Saturday. They'll be stopping by The Current before their sold out gig to record an in-studio session that'll air at 6:30 p.m. that day. They won the BBC Introducing Award in December 2014 at the inaugural BBC Music Awards. This was the first single to be a hit in the UK where it was championed by the famous BBC DJ Zane Lowe last year. Their debut album The Balcony was only just released in the States last month and they celebrated with a performance on Letterman.
Matt and Kim are back at #16! As last year's Rock the Garden audience knows, this duo can really get a party started right. Their new single "Get It," the first from the New Glow album due April 7, seems written to add another level to their party atmosphere! Check out the song's video that features footage from several of their live performances.
Robert DeLong's new EP came out in November of last year, so it's been a slow burn for "Long Way Down" to make it onto the Chart. Perhaps it was a ringing endorsement from USA Today two weeks ago that gave him a boost. You can learn more about DeLong with their On the Verge feature that spotlights breakthrough artists.
Father John Misty is also new at #19 with the second track to chart off I Love You, Honeybear. He made a video for it with his new wife, Emma, and continued the theme of love with a special take on Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" for Valentine's Day.
The Punch Brothers are back on the Chart at #20 after a one-week hiatus. Now that Chris Thile has done a short stint standing in for Garrison Keillor as host of A Prairie Home Companion, the band are off on a big national tour in support of their new Phosphorescent Blues album, including a gig on Sunday, March 1 at First Avenue. The band unplugged for a session at WXPN's World Cafe last week.