The second major-label outing by rock darlings Death Cab For Cutie looks on course to top The Billboard 200, according to today’s Nielsen SoundScan Building chart.
Informed by un-weighted sales from nine leading music accounts, the band’s “Narrow Stairs” registered a first-day sum of 54,000 copies. That represents a significant lead over Building chart runner-up Jason Mraz, another artist distributed by the Atlantic Group. Sales through Tuesday for Mraz’s “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” stood at 21,000.
Industry pundits project “Stairs” will tally in the range of 135,000-145,000 in its first week, which should be more than enough to seal the top spot.
Among recent rock acts, a first-day Building sum of 54,000 for Panic At The Disco’s “Pretty.Odd.” led to a final tally of 131,000 while a 53,000 start for Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” translated to a full-week tracking of 172,000.
Earlier Building tallies by Gavin DeGraw and Serj Tankian suggest Mraz could start north of 60,000. Of his two earlier full-length studio albums, 2005 release “Mr. A-Z” earned his best chart rank, opening at No. 5 with 81,000 sold.
Other new releases on the Building chart’s top 10: Welsh rookie Duffy’s “Rockferry,” (No. 5, 16,000), Frank Sinatra’s “Nothing But The Best” (No. 6, nearing 16,000) and Keith Sweat’s “Just Me” (No. 9, 11,000).
