Deafheaven: "No, the thumb goes over the two middle fingers, NOT under, OK?"
The week in ADM
Michael Palmer on a week that saw Frank Ocean and Anais Mitchell toppled in the All-Time chart
Raise your right hand up from your keyboard. It doesn't have to
be high above your head, don't worry. I know some of you are "at
work". You can be crafty about it. All that matters is that you
raise your right hand, palm facing outwards. You should be looking
at the back of your hand, which you should know pretty well. Now,
make a fist. OK? Done that? The next step is to raise your index
finger. Got it? Don't worry we're almost done. For our last step,
make sure your thumb is keeping your middle two fingers down and
raise your pinky. BOOM! That's our chart this week.
Deafheaven cannot be stopped! A couple more 9s
has pushed them to the very top of our All-Time Top 10 (which is
ranked to two decimal places). If you round up, there's only one
review in below 9, and that's an 8 from Spin. They join
Frank Ocean and Anais Mitchell on
8.9. If they can coax out another 10 or two from our sources they
could end up being our first ever 9.0 album.
The news is not quite as good for Editors, as
they release their fourth album. No fewer than six 4/10 reviews,
from Time Out, The Arts Desk, NME, Clash, The Guardian and The
Irish Times. A 5.2 average sees them sitting fifth from bottom on
our current releases chart. In fact, its rating is even lower than
their previous album. NME are particularly harsh: "It's so
phoned-in I had to fight the temptation to hang up". Ouch.
Let the judge be judged! Is that a phrase? Do people say that?
People say something similar, right? Anyway, it's happening now!
X-Factor judge Kelly Rowland releases her fourth
album to a 5.7 average. A few decent reviews though, including an 8
from Spin, cementing her place as the most famous of the backing
dancers from Beyonce's band.
The highest-placed new album this week comes from 73-year-old
Mavis Staples, releasing her 13th album and her
second with Jeff Tweedy. Only one review below 7
(The Guardian's 6) and a very impressive 9.1 from the A.V. Club
sets her average at 7.5. Most sources seem to agree that this album
is even better than the last Tweedy/Staples collaboration, though a
quick check and our Chart begs to differ. Their last got a 7.6.
Let's see if the Chart conforms next week.
Elsewhere: Treetop Flyers make the front page
with a 7.4, Solar Year re-work and re-release
their debut and get a 7.2, and it's incredibly tight in the
mid-field as Serengeti, Bosnian
Rainbows, The Duckworth Lewis Method,
Matias Aguaya, Mac Miller,
Congo Natty and µ-ziq all score
between 6.8 and 7.1.