Irish five-piece The Murder Capital have hit No.1 on the Irish album charts with their second album, Gigi's Recovery, outselling chart fixtures Taylor Swift and Dermot Kennedy.
The acclaimed band, who play Dublin's Vicar Street on 26 February, also achieved their highest UK chart placing when their new album debuted at No 16 in the UK this week.
The band’s single Return My Head made a massive leap of 11 places on the new Irish singles chart, from 19 to 8.
Posting on Instagam, the band said, "You've given us OUR FIRST NUMBER 1 with Gigi’s Recovery. Thank you to everyone who went out and got the record, and thanks to everyone on our team.
"Gigi is 16 in the UK charts, our highest position yet. You legends! What a journey making Gigi has been, and we’re only at the beginning. See you all at our biggest show yet. Love ye x."
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment about Gigi’s Recovery, front man James McGovern said, "At the forefront of what I was hoping to achieve from the beginning was a demand for life coming out of a state of grief.
"These songs were formed from imagination, there’s an existential narrative throughout this album, bookended by songs that I hope shed that sense of control that comes from existential thought at times.
"I write all the lyrics in isolation. Some of my favourites come from improvisation over a jam in the studio but the writing and the searching is mostly happily lonely work. Everything on this record is deeply autobiographical. It’s all me."
The Murder Capital’s 2019 debut album When I Have Fears was a No. 2 and made the top 20 in the UK.
Ireland's Top 10 albums
New 1 Gigi's Recovery - The Murder Capital (Human Season) 1
1 (last week) 2 (this week) Midnights - Taylor Swift (EMI)
3 3 Sonder - Dermot Kennedy (Island)
4 4 SOS - SZA (RCA/Top Dawg)
5 5 The Highlights - The Weeknd (Republic Records/XO)
7 6 Curtain Call - The Hits - Eminem (Interscope)
8 7 Without Fear - Dermot Kennedy (Island)
6 8 Harry's House -Harry Styles (Columbia)
12 9 Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent - Lewis Capaldi (EMI)
11 10 Diamonds - Elton John (Mercury/UMR)
Ireland’s Top 10 singles
1 1 I'll Be Waiting - Cian Ducrot (Polydor)
2 2 One Life - Dermot Kennedy (Island)
5 3 Get On My Love - Picture This (RCA)
4 4 Superstar - Belters Only & Micky Modelle (Polydor)
3 5 Time To Leave - Darren Kiely (Darren Kiely Music)
6 6 Perfect - Moncrieff (Energie/WM Germany)
7 7 Mayday - CMAT (CMATbaby)
19 8 Return My Head - Murder Capital (Human Season)
New 9 Homesick - Nell Mescal (Lab)
New 10 In The Dark - Biig Piig (RCA)
