M.I.A. doesn't quite make the top of the chart. Or the top 20 even
The week in ADM
Michael Palmer look back on the week's notable action in the ADM chart
There is just no stopping Future Of The Left.
They are unstoppable. They cannot be stopped. They still sit on
8.6, but it's a better 8.6 than before, as now it trumps
Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs' and Kendrick
Lamar's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' and they're up to 8th
spot on our All Time Chart. They'll be there for a while too, as
despite this week promising a few challengers to their crown,
nobody stepped up.
Our top scoring new album this week comes from
M.I.A. A few 5s and 4s ruining the party a little
bit, but the majority of the sources think it's worth of a 7 or 8
at least, and she averages a 7.3. Her previous album /\/\ /\ Y /\
(MAYA, eh?) managed only 7.1. Pffft! Still nowhere near the top
though. It's a tough room, our chart.
You know that story about that chicken who got its head cut off
then lived totally happily for ages? Like a few years? Anyway, its
now called Midlake, and their fourth album charts
with a 7.0 average. Their first release since the departure of
singer Tim Smith gets 6s, 7s and 8s pretty much across the board.
NME give 3 and say "portentous jams made for mourning failed
crops". Clash, however, slap on 9 and say "it might just be the
best thing they've ever done." Who knows what to believe.
Guess who else released an album this week? Only Lady
Freakin' Gaga! Back to take her crown as the biggest pop
star in the world! Except NOPE: 6.3. Praise from Billboard, Evening
Standard and Daily Telegraph, but The Quietus and musicOMH
disagree. "A depressing testament to how moribund pop music is at
the moment" say musicOMH which sounds pretty serious. It's
comfortably beating Miley Cyrus though, so that's something.
One of the most divisive albums we've seen over here in a while
is, quite predictably, Eminem's 'Marshall Mathers
LP 2'. 4s from Paste and Pitchfork dulled the rating but, out of
nowhere, a 10 from The Guardian launched his album to a 6.9
overall. There a bunch of 8s in there too, which might actually
keep the 41 year old rapper happy? Maybe?
Finally, yes, our wooden spoon goes to James
Arthur, because of course it does. A 5.0 overall for the X
Factor winner, unable to shake-off the burden of being an X Factor
winner. I'm sure he doesn't mind though. Independent on Sunday
throw him a bone in the shape of an 8, music OMH try their best and
give 6, but Evening Standard, The Observer and The Independent can
only muster 4.
Elsewhere: Tinie Tempah and Boy
George both score 6.2, a mixed response for Cut
Copy means a 6.6 average, and Son Lux,
Active Child and Swearin' all
score 7.somethings.