Angus & Julia Stone - Chocolates And Cigarettes EP Review

Angus And Julia Stone,
Chocolates And Cigarettes,
EP Review

Not since the Carpenters has there been a sibling duo worth talking about, or even not mentioning as far as memory serves me, and before someone starts bigging up Michael and Janet Jackson, don't even go there as to my knowledge they haven't. Yet.

So it's with a slight degree of trepidation that I introduce Australian brother and sister Angus And Julia Stone, fresh from the confines of Newport's backwaters and to be honest, a welcoming breath of fresh air in a genre that had almost become extinct, or at least as far as the masters of good taste are concerned anyhow.

'Chocolates And Cigarettes' features six songs, most favouring Angus on vocal bar the opener 'Private Lawns' and the closing title track, where Julia gets to do her bit, and to be honest, it's these two which stand out from the crowd, as Ms Stone's fragile tones echo a less distracted Joanna Newsom, and are all the more beefed up by the carefully orchestrated arrangements that make this EP surprisingly comfortable listening.

Two names to watch out for.

7/10
Dom Gourlay