Midnight Oil Blasts to No. 1 in Australia With ‘Resist’

February 25, 2022 E Jazz Reporter

Midnight Oil fires up Australia’s albums chart with Resist (Sony), which blasts to No. 1 on debut.

Resist is the sixth No. 1 for The Oils, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, and the followup to The Makarrata Project, an EP with First Nations Collaborators, which bowed at the summit in November 2020.

Peter Garrett and Co. previously hit led the chart with Red Sails in the Sunset (November 1984), Diesel and Dust (August 1987), Blue Sky Mining (March 1990) and 20,000 Watt RSL – The Midnight Oil Collection (October 1997).

Spanning a dozen, politically-charged tracks, Resist is the legendary Aussie rockers’ first full-length studio album in nearly 20 years, their 13th overall. And it’s said to be their finale.

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The band is currently on road in their homeland for Resist: The Final Tour. North America dates are expected to be announced today (Feb. 25)

There’s little movement in the Top 5 as Disney’s Encanto soundtrack and Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (Interscope/Universal) stay at No. 2 and 3, respectively, while Doja Cat’s Planet Her (RCA/Sony) lifts 5-4, and Adele’s 30 (Columbia/Sony) dips 4-5.

The next highest new entry belongs to Perth, Western Australia indie poppers Methyl Ethel with Are You Haunted? (Future Classic), new at No. 22. Haunted is the follow-up to Triage, which peaked at No. 11 in February 2019, for the band’s career high. Are You Haunted? debuts at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Elton John & Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” (via Warner/Universal) extends its reign into a tenth week. With that feat, the track joins some elite company. According to ARIA, just three other tracks have logged a total of ten weeks at the summit: Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” (December 1992), Sandi Thom’s “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)” (September 2006) and LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” (April 2011).

Meanwhile, U.S. hip-hop artist Jack Harlow earns a second solo appearance in the ARIA Top 50 as “Nail Tech” (Atlantic/Warner) starts at No. 36, the highest debut this week. His first solo entry was “WHATS POPPIN’”, which peaked at No. 8 in July 2020, and he collaborated with Lil Nas X on 2021’s “Industry Baby,” which has a chart best of No. 4.

Finally, Los Angeles born-and-raised singer and songwriter Em Beihold makes her first appearance on the ARIA Singles Chart with “Numb Little Bug” (Universal). Powered by TikTok, where it’s been used in more than 60,000 videos, the song starts at No. 48.