Another fairly quiet week on the singles chart coupled with a barrage of new material on the albums.

1. Tones & I – “Dance Monkey”

Second week, and it’s still growing – streams were up to 7.34m last week. Could be around for a while.

2. Travis Scott – “Highest in the Room”

This is easily Travis Scott’s biggest hit to date – his previous peak was number 9 for last year’s “Sicko Mode”, but mostly in the UK he’s been a perennial guest star rather than someone who has hits of his own. Naturally, it’s the lead single from a new album. This isn’t really my style, but I’ve heard this done a lot worse, and the video is completely insane.

“Outnumbered” by Dermot Kennedy climbs 14-8, as the parent debut album “Without Fear” enters at number 1. “Be Honest” by Jorja Smith featuring Burna Boy climbs 15-11, and “Post Malone” by Sam Feldt featuring Rani climbs 17-13.

19. Dan & Shay featuring Justin Bieber – “10000 Hours”

Only Bieber’s second appearance on the singles top 40 this year, the first being his number one with Ed Sheeran, “I Don’t Care”. Dan & Shay are a country duo, and this is a collaboration targeted more towards the American market. Even in that context, it’s a bland and clumsy piece of synergy. Under the heading “Critical Reception”, Wikipedia informs me that “The song has been described by Billboard as ‘mid-tempo’.”

“Buss Down” by Aitch featuring Ziezie rebounds to a new peak of 20 (it reached 21 four weeks back). Predictably enough, “South of the Border” by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello & Cardi B vaults 40-24.

25. Summer Walker – “Playing Games”

She’s from Atlanta, and this is her debut hit, though she just missed out in March when a collaboration with Drake, “Girls Need Love”, got to 41. The video’s trying a bit too hard, but it’s a nice change of pace for the singles chart. The parent album “Over It” enters at number 7.

“Turn Me On” by Riton & Oliver Heldens featuring Vula climbs 37-29, and “God is a Dancer” by Tiesto featuring Mabel is up33-32.

38. Halsey – “Graveyard”

Halsey’s struggled in 2019 to capitalise on the big hits she had last year – this is the follow-up to “Nightmare”, which couldn’t get past 26. Maybe if your market is feelgood pop, it’s not such a good idea to release songs called “Nightmare” and “Graveyard.” The actual song is quite catchy but I suspect it’s trying a bit hard to be credible.

On the album chart, Dermot Kennedy’s “Without Fear” is number 1, but we’ve had that. “Over It” by Summer Walker is at 7, and we’ve had that too.

9. Simple Minds – “Live in the City of Angels”

Their eleventh top ten album; like a lot of legacy acts, they’re holding up in a declining market, though they’ve always placed their albums respectably in the mid table. It’s a live album recorded in Los Angeles, obviously – the title refers back to their first live album from 1987, “Live in the City of Light.” (Paris, if you weren’t sure.)

10. The Darkness – “Easter is Cancelled”

This week’s entry for the “are they still going” file. They are indeed, and this is their fourth top ten album. The single above is a bit unexpected – still entirely retro, but in a somewhat different style – and I rather liked it.

16. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Ghosteen”

Hmm. The last original Nick Cave studio album, 2016’s “Skeleton Tree”, reached number 2 – making this a bit of a disappointment. This is meant to be the last part of a trilogy which included that album. The entire album has been posted on YouTube.

18. OMD – “Souvenir”

The band originally known as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, though they changed to the initials back in 1994 (and promptly released a greatest hits album credited to “OMD”). This is a career retrospective box set, named after their 1983 hit single – it reached number 3, which remains their joint highest along with 1993’s “Sailing on the Seven Seas”. If the title doesn’t ring a bell, you’ll probably recognise the hook.

20. The Sherlocks – “Under Your Sky”

Another underperforming follow-up – 2017’s debut “Live for the Moment” got to number 6. It’s indie guitars.

25. The Wildhearts – “Diagnosis”

This is the Wildhearts’ second album chart appearance; May’s reunion “Renaissance Men” got them up to number 11 for the first time since the 90s. Officially, this is an EP, hence the lower placing. Not only that, the title track was already on the album proper…

28. Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors”

Olsen’s only previous chart appearance was in 2016, when previous album “My Woman” managed a week at number 40. The single takes its time getting going, but it’s definitely worth a play.

29. Wilco – “Ode to Joy”

And at last, a consistent chart performer, as Wilco follow up 2016’s “Schmilco” (number 25). Another good video, too.