The Avalanches will need to blow past Taylor Swift and Santa for chart title

Taylor Swift and Christmas stand in the way of an Avalanches triumph on the ARIA Albums Chart.

As can be expected, Swift’s latest surprise album Evermore is leading the race to No. 1. If it holds its course, it’ll be the American pop star’s seventh consecutive No. 1, and third leader in just 15 months.

The Avalanches, now a duo of Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi, mark their return with We Will Always Love You, a spaced-right-out set stacked with samples and collaborations, including MGMT, Johnny Marr, Leon Bridges, Perry Farrell and others.

The battle for No. 2 will be hard fought, with Delta Goodrem’s Only Santa Knows and Michael Buble’s Diamond-certified Christmas vying for podium positions.

Based on early data,  a Top 5 entry for We Will Always Love You is the likeliest scenario. 

Watch The Avalanches' 'Wherever You Go':

In the U.K., The Avalanches' new record makes a mid-20s entry on the chart update, well-adrift of Swift’s market-leading iso album. TayTay will be tough to catch.

Any release from The Avalanches is cause for celebration. They’re as rare as hen’s teeth.

We Will Always Love You is just their third album in 20 years, and the followup to Wildflower, which went to No. 1 on debut in Australia in 2016.

Their debut Since I Left You is a modern classic, revered in electronic music circles and acclaimed by music connoisseurs the world over.

Few would argue its place in the pantheon of great Australian albums. And that statement has been made, many times.

In the U.K., Since I Left You (No. 8) and Wildflower (No. 10) both cracked the Top 10.

We Will Always Love You is one of five Australian artist albums in the Top 50 on the midweek U.K. tally, a list that includes records by AC/DC (Power Up at No. 7), Kylie Minogue (Disco at No. 21), Kid LAROI (F**k Love at No. 47) and the Bee Gees (The All-Time Greatest Hits at No. 49).