It’s 2014, Hip-Hop and Hip-Pop are all the rage. Miley Cyrus,Nicki Minaj,Taylor Swift,Iggy Azalea, and Ariana Grande dominate the music charts, and computer programs,heavy bass and auto-tuner are a musicians best friend. Angus and Julia Stone are the complete antithesis of everything those artists are and represent. The Australian natives are acoustic driven Indie-Folk for starters, and inIt’s 2014, Hip-Hop and Hip-Pop are all the rage. Miley Cyrus,Nicki Minaj,Taylor Swift,Iggy Azalea, and Ariana Grande dominate the music charts, and computer programs,heavy bass and auto-tuner are a musicians best friend. Angus and Julia Stone are the complete antithesis of everything those artists are and represent. The Australian natives are acoustic driven Indie-Folk for starters, and in addition to singing and doing harmonies they both play multiple instruments. The musicianship showed in their 3rd album makes me believe that is is indeed an art form again.
I’m a quasi new fan of this brother and sister duo, and by quasi I mean since 2009 when they released their 2nd album, “Down the Way.” I was one of those people who listened to “Big Jet Plane” over and over again. I couldn’t get enough of that song or the entire album for that matter.
Now after a hiatus they’ve released their 3rd full length album (with sixteen songs), “Angus and Julia Stone” and it’s as unassuming as straightforward as it’s self titled name. It starts out strong with their most popular single, “A Heartbreak.” It features rampant drums, with a marching bass-line and a rather subdued and morose sounding chord progression. All the while Julie Stone is crooning ,” I met you’re parents they were lying about falling in love… Girl you’re just a child, a heartbreak.”
"Grizzly Bear" another single features a slow beat with a slow bass line and an almost blues oriented guitar. However, in this song Angus has taken the lead on vocals the result is a very melodic.
My favorite and the last single on the album “Heart Beats Slow” picks up the pace a bit with faster drums and guitar. Here both alternate singing in the verses and then combine efforts on the choruses. Lyrically this is one of the strongest in the album and the most convincing, “Well you say I move too fast, so that you can hardly see. You said I move too fast. How can you be with me? No we wont let it into the kitchen, no we won’t let it into the house. We won’t let it into the front door, because it’s burning her pretty little heart.”
"Death Defying Acts" by far showcases Julia Stone’s vocals like you’ve never heard them before. A descending chord progression,vibrato and trills it thrills, ‘Oh my.’ All instruments are somewhat muted as she soulfully belts ,"I will perform a death defying miracle. For someone with the chemicals to believe. I am brave, but gravely understated. I can’t save you from what you’ve taken and leave." Pure poetry.
"Little Whiskey" strays a little far from their folk base and into borderline southern rock with Angus Stone’s crooning vocals and guitar effects. It kind of sounds like a Kings of Leon song, especially with lyrics like, “Pour a little whiskey before I head home. Poor lovesick child. There’s still fire in your belly and you’re heart’s still wild.” That band is made of relatives, which seems to be a winning combination.
There are points in the album that seem to drag on forever like, “Other Things,” “Please you,” and “Where ever you are,” but even these still articulate a wonderful sense of longing and sadness.
If “Death by defying acts” is Julia Stone’s best song, “Crash and Burn” is Angus Stones. It starts out really slow and then builds. Soaring guitar solos accompany him as he sings, “Will you come back if I I turn and run? Will you come find me if I crash and burn?”
The placement of “All this love” seems a bit out of place as the second to last song. It’s one of the fastest up beat songs in the entire album. The lyrics even convey a positive message, “There’s all this love if you need it. You take the high road and I will come along. I will follow you…There’s all this love if you need it.” In light of that I think this song should have also been a single.
As strange as the placement of the 2nd to last song is, the very last one “Roses” seems an odd place to leave the compilation. It’s slow and drone like, but overall the album leaves a good taste in my mouth. They take melancholy and turn it into something original and engaging. Especially considering all the things coming out in mainstream music now a days. Originality is something that is hard to accomplish and come by of late. I’ll take it where I can get it. (Or hear it)
Angus and Julia Stone are on tour to promote this latest endeavor, and will be at Urban Lounge October 14th.
Click here for tickets
http://www.angusandjuliastone.com/
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