Alabama Shakes lands first Billboard No. 1 album

The soulful rock quartet Alabama Shakes had a bit of a sonic revamp on its new album “Sound & Color.” The move paid off -- the band just landed its first No. 1 LP.

Released April 21, “Sound & Color” officially topped the Billboard 200 and album sales charts this week with 97,000 units. The Billboard 200 is a metric that includes streaming data and contemporary means of determining album popularity.

It’s a well-deserved accolade for the band, whose album “Boys & Girls” was a slow burner that peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart almost a year after its release. That album has, according to the magazine, sold around 744,000 copies to date.

“Sound & Color” is the second chart-topper for the band’s indie label ATO Records, which notched the same slot with Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” in 2008. Alabama Shakes’ recent Coachella set was well-received, with the Times’ Randall Roberts saying that “Unlike most head-nodding Coachella rock crowds, the fans went all in on the dance floor (dance grass?) for the group’s set on the Outdoor stage, making space for maximum release, screaming along to the band’s exuberant ‘Gimme All Your Love.’ ”

Elsewhere on the pop charts, last week’s top LP, Shawn Mendes’ “Handwritten,” took a big dive to No. 17 with 20,000 units, an 83% drop from its debut week. The “Furious 7” soundtrack, with its smash streaming hit “See You Again” from Wiz Khalifa, held up better, staying at No. 2 with 63,000 units (down just 21%).

The Southern rapper Yelawolf had the other auspicious chart debut, slotting in at No. 3 with his LP “Love Story” at 59,000 copies. It’s his best chart performance to date; his 2011 LP “Radioactive” peaked at No. 27. Drake, fresh off his Coachella headline appearances, nudged his way back up to fourth on the chart after the physical rerelease of the digital album “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” scored 48,000 units for the week.

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