OK, so I’m in love. With a brother and sister from Sydney, Australia. But before you jump to any conclusions, this is not a recipe for some Channel 5 ‘documentary’. Anything but, in fact. I merely refer to Angus & Julia Stone’s first long player, ‘A Book Like This’.
Their last release, the 2007 EP ‘Heart Full of Wine’, established them as a duo with relaxed, sunny harmonies of the folk variety – you may have heard the tracks “Private Lawns” and “Mango Tree”.
‘A Book Like This’ continues on this theme and is utterly, utterly lovely. Each track unfolds slowly and wraps itself around you beguilingly, with vocal duties shared between Julia’s witchy, Joanna Newsom-style singing and Angus’s outpourings, which sound like a slightly gruffer Nick Drake. Backed by acoustic guitars, shuffling drums, piano and occasional strings and harmonica, the pair’s offerings come off like a more accessible Devendra Banhart or a kookier Magic Numbers – surely no bad thing.
The album is comprised of sensitively crafted and delicate ditties such as opener “The Beast”, a poignant meditation on the frenetic pace of modern life; or the captivating love song “Wasted”. The title track, smack bang in the middle of the album, is a creeping and impassioned plea to a lover with some wonderful guitar work towards its conclusion.
The band’s lyrics have an essence of the fairy tale about them – but a fairy tale laced with darkness. For instance, on “Soldier”, Julia wails: “I’m the darkness but I want to be the light”, as if under a spell. They could easily soundtrack a Tim Burton film, something like Big Fish or Edward Scissorhands.
It’s Julia’s voice which provides the highlights for me, accompanied by Angus’s wonderfully melodic backing vocals. However, at times her brother’s more conventional vocals are welcome, to avoid Julia’s deliciously raggedy intonations becoming grating.
Tracks like “Hollywood”, a meditation on the way movies mislead us (“Cinderella would of scrubbed those floors til her hands/Grew old and tired nobody would look her way”) typify this fey quality; an aspect of the album which might put some off. Jaunty tracks like “Stranger”, on which Angus takes lead vocals, are a welcome respite and help keep the listener’s interest. The bluesy “Jewels and Gold” recalls a latter day Neil Young with a twist.
Subtlety is the key to this album. Its songs are extremely pretty (as are the band actually!) and ostensibly fit within the folk tradition, but calling them a folk act is not to undercut the muscle which expands each track as it gets going. With the spring tentatively showing itself in the UK, this enchanting album is perfect to sit back and listen to, glass of wine in hand, window open, as the wind gently ruffles your hair.
Angus and Julia Stone are on tour in the UK from April-May 2008.
Angus & Julia Stone on Myspace
Angus & Julia Stone Official Website
By: Lindsey Davis