On August 1st, 2014, Angus & Julia Stone, one of Australia’s most beloved musical duos, released their third album, and it would effortlessly build on the success of their first two records.
The self-titled album shot up charts around the world, reaching the top 10 in New Zealand, France, Germany, Belgium, and several other European countries.
In Australia, the album topped the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming their second consecutive album (following 2010’s Down the Way) to achieve the feat. If that wasn’t enough, Angus & Julia Stone – the album – became the sibling’s third album to go Platinum in their home country, highlighting their remarkable consistency.
The folk-pop band worked with the legendary Rick Rubin on production duties for their third album,
“It was pretty out of the blue. We were in the middle of both of our solo tours. We got a call about Rick wanting to meet us and said that he liked our music. At the time, we both assumed that he must have known we were solo, so we both met up with him separately at our shows in L.A. We both separately went back to Rick’s place in Malibu and hung out,” the Stones told Refinery29 in 2014.
“Then we kept meeting up over the next few months having really relaxed times — chatting about life, love and stuff that was going on. I instantly loved being around him, and Angus felt the same. Rick informed us that he wanted to work with us as artists and he said that he knew we were working on solo projects, but the first record he worked with us on he wanted us to be together. It was a shock for Angus and I since it had been so long. We were wondering how to approach it.
It was actually great for us because we hadn’t been in contact so much. We started talking about what it would be like to work together again and work with Rick. We thought we could make something in a new way. We felt like there was this spark of possibility — this spark of something we maybe hadn’t done yet.”
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The result an album that drew some highly positive reviews from critics.
“You know when a band you’ve dismissed utterly blindsides you? Cue a belated crush on this brother-sister duo,” wrote The Guardian‘s reviewer in 2014.
“Much of the album sounds like two siblings on a long drive, singing along with the radio. Is that why this album is the best thing this band have ever done? Who knows? It just is,” the review concluded.
The success has kept on coming for Angus & Julia Stone over the past decade.
They released their fifth album, Cape Forestier, earlier this year, watching it quickly rise to #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Named as Album of the Week by New Zealand radio station 95bFM, the duo said that Cape Forestier “holds a really special place in our hearts – a chapter in the ever-unfolding book about the road we’re travelling together….We couldn’t be more excited to share this music. It’s been an incredible experience writing and recording these songs together.”
