Album Review: Angus & Julia Stone (self-titled)

Angus & Julia Stone are a brother and sister duo (if you didn't already know), who were born and raised in good old Sydney. Fun fact, their parents played as a folk duo before they were born so it's obvious who was influential in their musical career. They have so far released three studio albums their third being their self-titled album that has already peaked at number one. When composing material each sibling writes their own stuff and then they continue by both working on the structure, the harmonies and the overall polishing of the song.

This self-titled album is the first of four years and was completely spontaneous and unplanned. The pair had been working singularly until Rick Rubin heard the pair play at a friend's party. He then went on to contact the brother-sister duo and voilà an album was born (and a pretty good one at that). If I'm going to be honest I was never really a true fan of Angus & Julia stone, their work had never really interested me. The stuff I had listened to of theirs previously was pretty but to me, it had no real substance. This album though, is definitely an improvement and really showcases the true potential the siblings have.

The album is made of 16 songs, of which Julia and Angus alternate taking the lead in. Although I must say that I enjoyed the first half of the album more than the back end of it, my favourites being A Heartbreak, My Word For It and Heart Beats Slow. Their sound remains pretty similar to how it has always been. Vocals are generally ambient, except for the songs Death Defying Acts and Main Street, which is quite comparable to something off of a Lana Del Rey album, perhaps it's a combination of the droning tone of Julia's vocals or the atmosphere of the song in general. The pair seem to have almost emerged from their folky roots and have created a new sound referencing a more pop rock vibe. Vocals are reverb-drenched in most, if not all, of the tracks and bass line is noticeably punchy. All in all a fairly good easy-listening album for a duo who had disappeared from us for a good while there.

I give Angus & Julia Stone's self-titled a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*You can purchase this album from iTunes, and you can check out Angus & Julia Stone's website at: http://www.angusandjuliastone.com/