Julie Doiron Stays On Top, Ahead Of Turmoil Down Below

The winds of change have hit the top 50 chart like a hurricane this week, as almost all of the long-surviving albums have disappeared, and there's a whack of newly released music entering en masse.

There are 19 new entries and four re-entries, mostly on the bottom portion of the chart. Only Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton's Knives Don't Have Your Back remains among the chart veterans, and it drops six spots to #20 in its 20th week. The next longest chart survivor is Stolen Minks' Family Boycott at 12 weeks. It drops 26 places to #39.

In stark contrast to the rest of the chart, there was little change among the top seven artists, and no movement in the top three. Julie Doiron's Woke Myself Up holds on to #1 with 1,754 total chart points. Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? at #2 has more than 1,300 points, while Deerhoof's Friend Opportunity has garnered more than 1,000 points at #3. The Shins' Wincing The Night Away moves up three places to #4, with Swan Lake's Beast Moans and Clinic's Visitations sticking at #5 and #6. Neko Case's Live From Austin TX drops three places to #7.

The next three spots are occupied by three fast rising albums that resided in the twenties last week. The Good, The Bad And The Queen's self-titled debut jumps 21 spots to #8, Knock Knock Ginger's Based On A True Story climbs 16 spots to #9, and Menomena's Friend And Foe treks up 13 places to #10.

There was a tight race for the Chart Sizzler Award, as five new CDs occupy the #12 to #16 positions. But the CSA goes to Mother Mother's Touch Up at #12. It's followed by Beirut's Lon Gisland EP at #13, Apostle Of Hustle's National Anthem Of Nowhere at #14, The Bird And The Bee's self-titled album at #15 and Hella's There's No 666 In Outer Space at #16. Other notable debuts include Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!'s Some Loud Thunder at #38, Arcade Fire's "Black Mirror" single at #43 and Apples In Stereo's New Magnetic Wonder at #48.

The specialty charts have seen a significant changing the guard, as each top 10 had a 30-per cent turnover. Neon Tetra's Home moves up two spots to land at #1 on the Electronic chart. The Brockway Entertainment Canadian Rap Mix 2006 compilation rises five positions to grab #1 on Hip-Hop. Vieux Farka Toure, the son of Mali's most famous musician, Ali Farka Toure (who passed away last year), follows in his father's footsteps by topping the World/Folk top 10 with his self-titled debut in its first week on the chart. After a couple of weeks' absence, Drumheller's Wives jumps seven spots to recapture #1 on the Jazz/Blues chart. Martyr's Feeding The Abscess remains atop the Metal/Punk chart for a third consecutive week.—Chris Burland