Jack White debuts at top of indie charts

A big first week is synonymous with a successful album cycle. Even with the success of artists whose releases pick up steam and remain on the charts for months, a person's star power is in a way defined by their first week. The public anticipation, fan loyalty and the ability to make a new release a defining moment even in today's climate holds a certain reverence in the music industry.

In the world of Indie music, Jack White is such an artist. Lazaretto held a certain anticipation and even if you weren't enamored by the album's quality you would at least need to have an opinion on it. This translated to a number one debut, and as reviews continue to trickle out (including a 9/10 by Hot Press) one has to expect that it will remain around the top 10 for the foreseeable future.

The other two new entries that make up the top 3 are a bit closer to home, with Brother Nature by the Hot Sprockets and Rumble Shake by Crow Black Chicken following up respectively. To see a nation get behind their own and build them into stars is a beautiful thing to see in action, and luckily here in Ireland we've seen that metamorphosis several times over, with the potential for many more.

Outside of this shuffle with all of the debuts in the top 3, the rest of the top ten is made of with veterans of the release cycle, with each album having been on shelves for at least a month and some for more than a year.

Coming in fourth and losing the coveted number one spot was Nathan Carter's The Wagon Wheel Show – Live. To some, to lose the top spot is a signal of a need to reload, to power back and force the world to re-acknowledge your accomplishments, but The Wagon Wheel Show – Live is very much just that. The original Wagon Wheel came in at number ten, still maintaining after 86 weeks on the charts.

Coming in at five is AM by the Arctic Monkeys,still going strong after becoming one of 2013's defining records, followed by The Gloaming by Gloaming, a tribute to the fact that even as grows and becomes more open and influenced by the world at large, we still possess a passion for the sounds and music that is inherently within ourselves and society at large. Coming in at seven are American legends Pixies with Indie Cindy followed by All We Are by O.R.B., the young rappers continuing to give North Dublin a voice in the the genre so noted for its ability to give empowerment to those who are shunned by the masses.

The ninth spot is taken by Passenger's All the Little Lights, riding the strength of a Hot Press feature article to rise eight spots from 17 last week. the tenth spot is cemented by Nathan Carter's double dip, as Wagon Wheel made a backdoor re-entry in it's rise from the thirteenth spot.

Be sure to check the countdown next week, as new releases from The Antlers, Lana Del Rey and Opeth are sure to make their presence felt on the chart.