Charts Recap for August 16th - 22nd, 2021

We’ve got a fresh top-ten best-seller chart up for the week! And we’ve got a rare TIE at the number one spot!! It’s a battle for alt-pop supremacy with LORDE and OLIVIA RODRIGO splitting the top spot with Solar Power and Sour respectively. For Lorde, her latest is her “happy” record. Gone is the brooding moody teen we were introduced to, replaced with summer-ready beach adjacent pure pop. She might just be on to something with the focus on the positive. And Olivia has been hanging around lower in our charts for a little while now on the strength of CD and Tape sales, but as of this week there is VINYL in the shop too! Sour, for those unfamiliar with the youthful Rodrigo, manages to sprinkle a little alt-rock with her teen introspection, making for a unique new tweak on the 21st century pop sound.

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Most of the rest of our top-ten this week are familiar records to this list. The only previously uncharted arrival here is DEAFHEAVEN with their latest full-length Infinite Granite. This is by far the group’s most atmospheric release thus far. Here the group goes lighter on their metal influences, delving into the shoegaze and post-rock elements in their DNA. Those brushed back by the groups harshness would do well to check this one out, and most longtime listeners will likely enjoy the band focusing one one side of its persona for an albums length.