Snow (Angus & Julia Stone album)
2017 studio album by Angus & Julia Stone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Snow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 15 September 2017 | |||
| Studio | Byron Bay cottage studio[1] | |||
| Length | 52:36 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Angus & Julia Stone | |||
| Angus & Julia Stone chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Snow | ||||
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
| 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
All tracks are written by Angus Stone and Julia Stone.
Personnel
Angus & Julia Stone
- Angus Stone – vocals, production (all tracks), bass (1, 3), guitar (2, 4–6, 9–12), organ (4, 7), cigar box bass (8), engineering (3)
- Julia Stone – vocals, production (all tracks); guitar (1, 7, 8, 12), drums (2, 4), organ (5), piano (9), trumpet (11), engineering (1, 2, 4–7, 9, 10, 12)
Additional musicians
- Thomas Bartlet – keyboards (all tracks), drum programming (2, 3, 5–7, 9–12)
- Ben Edgar – drums (track 1), guitar (2, 3, 6, 7, 9–11)
- Daniel Farrugia – organ (track 1), drums (3, 5–7, 9–12)
- Dann Hume – bass (tracks 2, 4–10)
- Matt Johnson – drums (tracks 3, 5, 11)
- Mikey Bee – group backing vocals (tracks 3, 9)
- Vinnie Laduce – group backing vocals (tracks 3, 9)
- Rohin Brown – chorus backing vocals (track 4)
- Eric Coelho – group backing vocals (tracks 6, 7), bass (11, 12)
- Stefan José – group backing vocals (tracks 6, 7)
- Ross Irwin – trumpet (tracks 8, 11)
- Pete Wilkins – drums (track 8)
- Fiona Franklin – group backing vocals (track 9)
- Maria Stratton – group backing vocals (track 9)
- Mylee Grace – group backing vocals (track 9)
Technical
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- John O'Mahony – mixing (tracks 1, 2)
- Eric J Dubowsky – mixing (tracks 3–12)
- Adam Rhodes – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 4–7, 9, 10, 12)
- Paul Pilsneniks – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 4–7, 9, 10, 12)
- Dann Hume – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5–9)
- Eric Coelho – engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11)
- Daniel Farrugia – engineering (track 3)
- James Yost – engineering (track 11)
- Tim Watt – mixing assistance (tracks 3–12)
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|