Black Mountain Capitalize On Leap Year

For the first time in the 12-year history of compiling weekly charts, there were five Fridays in February. This calendar set-up won't occur again until 2036, so it will be the only instance of this happening while I'm overseeing the chart. I only hope to be alive to experience another Friday, Feb. 29.

To honour this special occurrence, Black Mountain's In The Future remains at #1 with a total of 1,883 points. That total was almost twice as much as the second-place album, Vampire Weekend's self-titled release, which jumps three places after garnering 968 points. Hayden's In Field & Town also rises three notches to #3, as does Hot Chip's Made In The Dark at #4. Cat Power's Jukebox heads in the opposite direction, dropping three spots to #5. Plants And Animals' Parc Avenue jumps five places to #6 and Jason Collett's Here's To Being Here drops a three-spot to #7. Cadence Weapon's Afterparty Babies remains at #8, directly followed by The Magnetic Fields' Distortion, which falls six places. Xiu Xiu's Women As Lovers rounds out the top 10 after jumping five positions.

Two new entries fought hard to gain the prestigious Chart Sizzler title this week. The Raveonettes' Lust Lust Lust comes in at #13, immediately followed by The Superfantastics' Choose Your Destination at #14. Ladyhawk's Shots debuts at #23, while Hawksley Workman's Between The Beautifuls enters at #25. Other notable new entries include Proof Of Ghosts' eponymous album at #34, The Tom Fun Orchestra's You Will Land With A Thud at #36 and Atlas Sound's Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel at #47.

Two of the five specialty charts are topped by albums that also appear in the top 50. Cadence Weapon's Afterparty Babies moves up three places to top the Hip-Hop chart, while Hot Chip's Made In The Dark retains its hold on the Electronic chart. The other three charts feature new #1 albums. Steve Reid Ensemble's Daxaar debuts at #1 on Jazz/Blues. Genghis Tron's Board Up The House rises eight places to top the Metal/Punk chart and the What's Happening In Pernambuco compilation jumps six spots to capture #1 on World/Folk.

—Chris Burland