It’s rare for siblings to work so well together they become a household name, so we’re pretty glad Angus & Julia Stone have put their solo careers aside to reform the best brother-sister band going around.
The duo has easily picked up where they left off, as ‘Heart Beats Slow’ is an easy radio hit, along with ‘Get Home’ and ‘A Heartbreak’, which are bound to gain equal airplay.
While staying within the same sound, there’s plenty of versatility to make it an album worthy of playing from start to finish three times over. ‘My Word for It’ has a brilliant guitar intro heavy on the reverb, which leads into Julia’s soft crooning of “I lay myself upon the floor/We’re not all dying babe”.
Things are slowed down for ‘Death Defying Acts’, before an edgy guitar riff breaks the slow pace set by Julia’s voice. Instantly the mood shifts and you feel the anger in her voice. This might be a track you look over with its slower start, but here’s a hint – don’t. It’s one that will leave your ears satisfied beyond words.
‘Other Things’ might slip past your radar, as its sweet beat of the kalinka acoustic guitar and sugar-tipped vocals don’t let on of its dark content. Here they sing of planes crashing (“There’s a plane in the sky/If those people fall they will die”) and deep-rooted relationship problems.
While their solo ventures are worth appreciating, as a duo Angus and Julia is a force to be reckoned with. Their new release could easily be one of the best albums of the year.
By Amanda Sherring