Album Review: Angus & Julia Stone – Angus & Julia Stone
3 min read
Angus & Julia Stone reunite after their successful solo ventures to deliver their third studio album; Angus & Julia Stone. The ARIA award-winning brother/sister duo shelved work on a third album back in 2012 due to differences in the pair’s creative head spaces, confirming they would reunite in time. The reasoning behind naming an album after your act often tends to be because the artist is offering material with which they experience a deep connection, so we could be about to witness the best of Angus & Julia Stone, or the first of the best of what’s yet to come.
A Heartbreak is sonically satisfying, the introduction’s arrangement a devious yet intriguing piece; Angus & Julia’s vocals compliment each other well as they sing in harmonious unison. The bass provides a deep atmosphere for the warm guitar riff that resonates throughout My Word For It; the folk/blues influence the pair are renowned for shines in the vocal. The mellow Grizzly Bear is relaxing as the arrangement is smooth and the Bob Dylan-esque verses don’t ask for much, just your bittersweet attention.
Heart Beats Slow is an interesting listen, but isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as a lead single; it’s got the beat going for it, but the verses seem a little harder to follow and the vocals aren’t as captivating as the album’s previous tracks. Wherever You Are is a sweet ballad, reusing the phrase ‘don’t take my word for it’, but is a great tune to dedicate to that special someone; Get Home is also a great track to listen to in a laid back setting, its beat is steady and the lyrics have a deep meaning for those who long for the ones they love to come home.
Death Defying Acts has a slower, darker and smoother ring to it and Julia performs with the voice of an angel; the beat returns in the edgy Little Whiskey, this time Angus takes the lead effortlessly. From The Stalls is catchy, the pair don’t need to try too hard to impress their listeners as this song has a subtle beat and a mellower vocal, but still has single potential. Other Things is the weakest point of the album so far, the vocal slurs don’t do the pair any justice and overall the track wasn’t a captivatingly enjoyable listen like much of the rest of the record. An atmosphere has been set with Please You, the instrumentation is something out of a dream and the vocal is just right; the same can be said about Main Street. Closing track Crash And Burn wasn’t easy to be captivated by, its full length of six minutes and a half was not justified as the song’s content didn’t really have contrasting elements to warrant going on for that long; it is a good song, but it would have served better as the standard four minute track.
It is great to see Angus & Julia Stone back where they belong, which is in unity to create something special for themselves and their fans; Angus & Julia Stone is nothing short of being a fine album. Hearing the pair sing together in harmony is bittersweet and they compliment each other so well; although there were a couple of tracks that did not seem to fit in so well (Other Things and Crash And Burn as critiqued), the record is still a great piece to listen to. The trademark Stone sound is definitely present in their self titled effort, so fans old and new should love and embrace the new material, that is for sure!
