Knife Party Pip 'Countdown' To Top-3 Spot On Carlton Dry Indie Charts

Newly minted Future Music Festival drawcards Knife Party have emerged as the best-performing newcomers in a week full of fresh debutants on the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts, with their debut full-length Abandon Ship claiming the third-highest spot on the Albums ladder, just beating out old-school fave Countdown and its various-artists compilation (#4) for the honour.

Extreme prog-metallers and Soundwave act Ne Obliviscaris prove there's life left in the genre yet, stepping out at an impressive #7 with Citadel, while acclaimed workhorse Dan Sultan is back in action with Dirty Ground, which slides in just outside the top 10 at #12. Renowned blues-man C.W. Stoneking strums his way to #12 with Gon' Boogaloo, and Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders rounds out the field of full-length newbies with Playmates, which enters at #17 this week.

However, despite all the fresh faces, incumbent respective top two the Hilltop Hoods (Walking Under Stars) and Flight Facilities (Down To Earth) remain unmoved from their positions atop the pile. It's a similar situation over on the Singles chart, where the top two have switched since last week to see the Hilltops' Cosby Sweater in pole position once more, finally displacing the long-triumphant Freaks, by Timmy Trumpet (now #2).

Vance Joy has released yet another top-ten single on debut, with new cut First Time coming in at #8. That's just below the still strongly placed Riptide (#7), but well above recent track Mess Is Mine, which nonetheless is hanging in there at #15. The week's final newcomer, Will Sparks' Ah Yeah, steps out at #16; interestingly, Sparks is one of only four acts, alongside Sia (Chandelier, #6), San Cisco (Run, #9) and Meg Mac (Roll Up Your Sleeves, #19), to be a unique proposition on the ladder — every other spot is filled by a multiple place-holder: the Hilltops (three songs), Trumpet (two), Peking Duk (two), Sheppard (two), Vance Joy (three), AC/DC (two), and Flight Facilities (two).  Let's hear it for diversity!