By Carrie Clancy on Wednesday, 30th August 2017 at 6:00 pm
Aussie sibling duo Angus and Julia Stone have just unveiled a new promo video for their latest track ‘Chateau’, which is set to feature on their upcoming LP ‘Snow’. The album is due for release on the 15th of September via Play It Again Sam, and the pair have already revealed a video for its title track, which you can view here.
The video treatment for ‘Chateau’ was filmed in Mexico City, where the two romantic lead characters embark on a wild adventure involving auto theft, river rafting, wedding crashing, and a night at the disco. Angus and Julia appear in the video as wedding guests, and their hazy musical setting provides a dizzy but delightful backdrop as they become involved in the former pair’s unlikely escapades.
Angus and Julia Stone will play two shows in the UK this November as part of their European tour. You can find a complete listing of their upcoming tour dates on their official Web site. TGTF’s previous coverage of the Aussie folk duo can be found right back here.
By Mary Chang on Sunday, 14th September 2014 at 10:00 am
Brother/sister Aussie folk duo Angus and Julia Stone have premiered their latest music video for ‘Grizzly Bear’, which appears on their third yet self-titled album out now. In the promo, scenes from their touring life are interspersed with lovely images of Australian forests and beaches for a truly enchanting visual. Watch it below.
By Carrie Clancy on Friday, 1st August 2014 at 12:00 pm
Australian brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone have reunited in the studio for their third duo album, titled simply ‘Angus and Julia Stone’. The pair had gone their separate ways after touring their previous album, 2011’s ‘Down The Way’, each delivering a solo project the following year. They were brought back together by California producer Rick Rubin, whose magic touch has recently been felt on recordings by Ed Sheeran (‘X’) and Jake Bugg (‘Shangri-La’).
‘Angus and Julia Stone’ is at once more expansive and more cohesive than the siblings’ past records together. The aforementioned ‘Down the Way’ was a large step in this direction, well beyond the purely acoustic folk sound of 2007’s ‘A Book Like This’. Though both previous albums contained California-themed titles, Angus’ songs in particular on ‘Down the Way’ began to explore the warm, mellow West Coast sound, while Julia expanded into thicker and more dramatic instrumentation. Where the two previous albums were studies in contrast between the two Stones — Julia’s raw, taut emotionality and Angus’ laidback, almost sullen drawl — the new self-titled album uses a heavy dose of blues groove to meld their distinct styles into a unified sound.
Rather than strictly alternating lead vocals, the best songs on ‘Angus and Julia Stone’ intertwine the two voices in clever ways. I must admit here that I’ve never particularly cared for Julia Stone’s singing voice; it’s precisely the kind of overaffected little girl whine that usually begins to grate on my nerves after one or two songs. But she sounds remarkably lovely when her voice is layered with Angus’ brooding declamatory style, and the assortment of vocal combinations on this album, varying between straight harmonies and back-and-forth duets, display that feature to its fullest advantage.
The double-tracked vocals throughout opening track ‘A Heartbreak’ make a very definite statement about the collaborative nature of the album as a whole. The song’s first lyrics are an immediate grab for attention: “I met your parents, they were lying about falling in love”, and the rest of the songs continue in that verbally strident vein, softened by the easy blend of the Stones’ voices.
On standout track ‘Heart Beats Slow’, the vocal back and forth is matched up with a bright keyboard melody and lively rhythm over a mellow bass groove. The chorus conjures imagery of the fast-paced L.A. scene in its lyrics, “You say I move so fast that you can hardly see / You say I move so fast, how could you be with me? / But my heart beats slow.” The lovelorn duet ‘Wherever You Are’ and the off-kilter ‘Other Things’ feature the same kind of vocal interchange over a sparser acoustic backdrop.
Individually, each sibling takes the opportunity to stretch his/her own musical style. Angus delves deep into a steamy blues groove on ‘Grizzly Bear’, with Julia doubling on the seductive chorus, “Can I take you home? / We can go anywhere you wanna go.” (Check out a recent live version of ‘Grizzly Bear’ below.) Julia’s impressive lead vocal on ‘Death Defying Acts’ starts out slow, then takes a sultry turn before the song evolves into its hypnotic close.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/FapzvjVU6SM[/youtube]
The album proper ends with the slow, surly vocals and extended blues guitar riff of ‘Crash and Burn.’ The deluxe version of the album might be worth shelling out a few extra pennies, if only for the rhythmically spellbinding and harmonically intoxicating bonus track ‘Roses’.
The songs on ‘Angus and Julia Stone’ are still recognizable as the intimate folk pop that fans of the sibling pair have always loved, but with a few added layers of musicality. Lyrically, there are moments of poetic brilliance among the pair’s typical repetitive and mesmerizing choruses. Rick Rubin’s subtle production flourishes spike the overall flavor with blues and shimmering psychedelia, which fuses the Stones’ individual styles together and provides a fresh sonic foundation for their songs to grow from.
8.5/10
‘Angus and Julia Stone’ is due for release on the 4th of August on Virgin EMI Records. Angus and Julia Stone are back together on stage as well; you can find their upcoming UK tour dates here.
By Carrie Clancy on Monday, 28th July 2014 at 9:00 am
After several years working on separate solo projects, folk rock duo Angus and Julia Stone have reunited for a new self-titled album, due for release on the 4th of August. In support of their new project, the sibling pair will embark on a tour of Europe in November, finishing with the following UK dates near the end of 2014. Tickets are on sale now.
Friday 12th December 2014 – Bristol Academy
Saturday 13th December 2014 – Manchester Albert Hall
Sunday 14th December 2014 – Glasgow Academy
Tuesday 16th December 2014 – London Hammersmith Apollo
You can preview the new album by watching the video for edgy opening track ‘A Heartbreak’ below. Previous TGTF coverage of Angus and Julia Stone can be found here.
By Phil Singer on Monday, 19th July 2010 at 3:30 pm
Having started off 2010 with a bang, Angus and Julia Stone plan on finishing the year in a pretty spectacular fashion with their biggest UK tour to date.
Saturday 4th December 2010 – Brighton St Georges Church
Sunday 5th December 2010 – Leeds Wardrobe
Tuesday 7th December 2010 – Glasgow Oran Mor
Thursday 9th December 2010 – London Royal Festival Hall
Friday 10th December 2010 – Falmouth Princess Pavillions
Saturday 11th December 2010 – Bristol Trinity Centre
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