DMA’S Debut In U.K. Top 3 With ‘How Many Dreams?’

DMA’S did it.

The Aussie indie-rock trio blasts to No. 3 on the U.K. albums chart behind new LPs from Boygenius and Melanie Martinez, respectively.

That’s a career-best for Tommy O’Dell, Matt Mason and Johnny Took, bettering the No. 4 peak on the Official U.K. Albums Chart for 2020’s The Glow.

For some context, Kevin Parker’s Tame Impala also has a U.K. albums chart best of No. 3, hitting the target twice, with 2015’s Currents and 2020’s The Slow Rush.

With Currents, Tame Impala went on to win the BRIT Award for best international act, beating U2 and others.

How Many Dreams?, which again showcases their Britpop swagger, this time welding some hands-in-the-air rave moments, also leads the Official Record Store Chart, for being the most-purchased record on wax in independent U.K. record stores, and arrives at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart.

The album is released through Johann Ponniah’s I Oh You, the reigning independent label of the year at the AIR Awards, and a division of Mushroom Group. I Oh You is the only three-time winner of AIR Award for indie label.

DMA’S fine showing in the U.K. is no fluke.

The lads are working hard in the U.K., traveling in a van playing intimate shows (plus a date at OVO Arena, Wembley), meeting fans, signing records on the ground, with 5am starts and midnight finishes.

“It’s not particularly glamorous but it is real, and it’s proven to be a great reminder of how far the band have come,” said I Oh You founder and director Johann Ponniah during the chart race.

“The passion and love shown to us as we travel to lesser toured spots around the country has been amazing.”

He added, “it’d be pretty special if an independent Australian band and label managed to notch a top 5 album in the U.K.”

That’s exactly what happened when the all-genres national chart was published late Friday (April 7).

The lads spoke with the Official Charts Company on their appetite for performing.

“We’d love to do Glastonbury again. If they asked us, we’d do it,” took tells the OCC, a joint venture of labels body BPI and retail association ERA.

“The main thing for us is live music. Especially after the pandemic, live music is just so important to us. I feel like we’ve always had a pretty good live show, but we just want to keep growing it, tweaking it and making it better and better.”

He continues, “We’d love to become known as a band that reaches that tier where they can play a night time slot at a festival. We’ve got our biggest ever Australian tour coming up, too, which is so exciting.”

Australian tour dates are set for this September and October.