With the passing of another week we’ve got a brand new Aussie act on top of the ARIA charts. Thick as Thieves, the new album from The Temper Trap, sees the band scoring back to back number LPs.
The ARIA charts might state Jimmy Barnes’ Soul Searchin’ has slipped number three, but it’s worth noting that’s only because the charts consider digital sales. If you’re as old school as me, you might be interested to know Jimmy’s still selling more CDs than anyone else in the country.
Previous number ones Skin by Flume and Ripcord by Keith Urban are at numbers six and seven respectively. Flume’s “Say It” is also the lone Aussie single in the top 10 this week. It’s at number eight.
Here are all this week’s number ones.
Top 10 Albums
1. Thick as Thieves – The Temper Trap
2. 25 – Adele
3. Soul Searchin’ – Jimmy Barnes
4. Lemonade – Beyonce
5. Thank You – Meghan Trainor
6. Skin – Flume
7. Ripcord – Keith Urban
8. Views – Drake
9. Strange Little Birds – Garbage
10. Greatest Hits – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Top 10 Singles
1. “One Dance” – Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla
2. “This is What You Came For” – Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna
3. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” – Justin Timberlake
4. “Me Too” – Meghan Trainor
5. “Too Good” – Drake featuring Rihanna
6. “Just Like Fire” – Pink!
7. “Don’t Let Me Down” – The Chainsmokers feat. Daya
8. “Say It” – Flume feat. Tove Lo
9. “Panda” – Desiigner
10. “Cake By the Ocean” – DNCE
The Hurstville Entertainment Centre gave me the intimacy that I was craving last time. The term entertainment centre makes it sound larger than it is. It’s more like an old dinner theatre, with tables at the front to hold the cheese and dessert plates they sell at the bar in the foyer. I was perched in the front row, close enough to see Molly has barely aged since she was a teenage pinup. I certainly don’t have the legs to pull off the glitzy sequined dress she strutted out in!
She smoldered through “Sooner or Later,” convincing us all that she could have easily taken the Madonna role in Dick Tracy she auditioned for. More songs from her album Except Sometimes came, as well as tracks from an upcoming release and others she felt deserve a place in the Great American Songbook. I appreciated the set list, which if my memory serves correctly was a bit more eclectic than the one on her first tour. Jazz standards were well represented, of course, alongside modern cuts from Rufus Wainwright and Elvis Costello and show tunes from My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and Guys and Dolls. Few artists could so convincingly deliver such varied material, but Molly’s acting chops served her well here. Credit should also go to her band; only the pianist tours regularly with Molly but they gelled so well.
The songs were punctuated by Molly’s musings. I hung on her every word. I loved hearing why she selected certain songs, what they meant to her, about roles she’s auditioned for and her life as a wife and mum. While great music matters to me, that personal touch you get when an artist shares themselves with you really makes a concert special. Molly Ringwald might be better known as an actress, but she certainly holds her own as a singer.
Flume continues to dominate the albums charts, debuting at number one on the ARIA charts with his new album Skin. It features three top 30 singles and counting, “Never Be Like You,” “Smoke & Retribution,” and “Say It,” which currently sits at number five. This album follows Atlas and Bloom, which also topped the charts.