Angus & Julia Stone – A Book Like This

• 25th Mar 2008

There’s certainly enough evidence on this album to justify the hype that has been surrounding this act. ‘A Book like This’ is the brother/ sister duo’s first album. It’s a whimsical and dreamy folk album packed with beautiful melodies.

Fans of ‘Fleetwood Mac’ and ‘Bell and Sebastian’ will find plenty to admire here, but in all honesty it’s hard for me to imagine anyone listening to this album and not finding something to love. There’s vast commercial appeal and Julia’s vocals are not too dissimilar to Kate Nash’s, but nonetheless it still manages to sound refreshingly raw and different. From opening track ‘The Beast’ the listener is lured in to the haunting beauty of the record. ‘Bella’ sung by Angus is daringly lo-fi, it’s minimalist and fragile arrangement is quite simply stunning. While ‘Stranger’ and its bluesy stomp will keep you coming back again and again. Big things await.