(Capitol/EMI)

Album number two from folk rock siblings

Angus & Julia Stone’s sad-eyed, sensual acoustic pop/rock is such a distinctive and ingrained part of the Australian musical landscape, it’s almost hard to believe that their recorded output only emerged about four years ago. Down The Way is the follow-up to their 2007 debut album A Book Like This and will enchant the duo’s large fan base. It blends long, textural, atmospheric compositions with odd little pop songs, while showcasing the contrasting vocal styles of the siblings. Angus sounds like a rainy-window lovechild of Nick Drake and Xavier Rudd, blending the former’s clipped phrasing and melancholy with the latter’s laid-back combie troubadour vibe – though he goes all Greg Dulli-tortured in slowly building lament Draw Your Swords. The most instantly recognisable singer, however, remains Julia with her breathily emotive delivery, which benefits the superb And The Boys (one of the duo’s finest songs to date) and the Kate Bush-gone-languid-blues vibe of I’m Not Yours. The nine-minute The Devil’s Tears and the seven-and-a-half minute Yellow Brick Road show the pair aren’t afraid to let their songs veer off into subtly cinematic soundscapes, lush two-part harmonies and sighing Ry Cooder guitar adding to the record’s already considerable appeal.

***½

MATT THROWER

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