Angus & Julia Stone ¦ Snow

Snow is the fourth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter duo Angus & Julia Stone. It was released on 15 September 2017^[1] by EMI in Australia and Nettwerk in the United States.^[6][7] It was preceded by the release of the title track^[1] and "Chateau" as singles.^[8] "Chateau" was accompanied by a video directed by Jessie Hill.^[9] The album was written entirely by the duo and recorded at Angus Stone's Byron Bay cottage studio after it was suggested by Rick Rubin, who produced their 2014 self-titled album.^[10]

Two of the album's tracks were voted into the Triple J Hottest 100, 2017: "Chateau" at number three and "Snow" at number 98.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for two awards; Best Blues and Roots Album and Best Independent Release.^[11]

Production

Julia Stone commented that the duo had never written a whole album by themselves, nor spent as much time making an album alone together, saying: "That was the first time that we actually started writing together, in the same room [...] the last phase of writing and recording was just eight weeks of him and me and the quiet of the land."^[10] Ideas for the album came about while the duo were in Switzerland, and the album was recorded at Angus' Byron Bay studio over a period of approximately six months.^[12] Songs originated from "jam sessions" with friends who were at the pair's home.^[13] Angus and Julia included a song about their late grandfather on the album, titled "Cellar Door", as he had helped inspire them to become a band; the track is about Angus revisiting his home town to sing at his funeral.^[12]

The album incorporates new instrumentation for the duo: the use of a drum machine and "a more expansive guitar palette".^[14] It also incorporates the use of a $150 organ the pair bought from an advertisement on the opening track, "Snow".^[12][15] The track "Sylvester Stallone" includes lyrics referring to a lover who slurs their speech when drunk,^[13] and "Sleep Alone" was created after a "'speed-date' songwriting session" with an unnamed DJ, where the duo abandoned the programmed beat but kept the lyrics.^[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.5/10[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
The Irish Times	[18]
The Line of Best Fit	7.5/10[19]
The Music AU	[20]
The Observer	[21]
Renowned for Sound	[22]
Rolling Stone Australia	[14]

Darren Levin from Rolling Stone Australia complimented the "call-and-response" of "Snow", saying: "The Stones are at their best when they're playing off each other like this: Julia providing the strong but sympathetic counterpoint to her brother's just-rolled-out-of-a-two-day-bender version of charm."^[14] He gave the record three-and-a-half stars out of five, concluding: "They're stronger together – they just realise it now."^[14] Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times was less positive, giving the record two out of five stars, writing: "Beige might be a more appropriate title for Angus and Julia Stone's fourth album [...] their songs are bland creations, dripping with laboured pretence, as heard on 'Sleep Alone' and the lacklustre 'Baudelaire'. Only the Springsteen-esque shimmer of guitar on 'Who Do You Think You Are?' inspires any emotional response."^[18] She summarised that the album was "studied nonchalance with no real identity of its own".^[18]

Track listing

Source: iTunes^[23]

Charts

Certifications

References