Snow (Angus & Julia Stone album)

Last updated

Snow
SnowAngusAndJuliaStone.png
Studio album by
Released15 September 2017 (2017-09-15)
Studio Byron Bay cottage studio [1]
Length52:36
Label EMI
Producer Angus & Julia Stone
Angus & Julia Stone chronology
Angus & Julia Stone
(2014)
Snow
(2017)
Life Is Strange
(2021)
Singles from Snow
  1. "Snow"
    Released: 13 June 2017 [2]
  2. "Chateau"
    Released: 24 August 2017 [3]
  3. "Cellar Door"
    Released: 17 November 2017 [4]
  4. "Nothing Else"
    Released: June 2018 [5]

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]

Contents

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
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 5.5/10 [16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10 [19]
The Music AUStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Renowned for SoundStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [22]
Rolling Stone Australia Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [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.

No.TitleLength
1."Snow"4:12
2."Oakwood"3:43
3."Chateau"4:33
4."Cellar Door"4:41
5."Sleep Alone"4:29
6."Make It Out Alive"3:17
7."Who Do You Think You Are"6:51
8."Nothing Else"4:24
9."My House Your House"4:42
10."Bloodhound"3:58
11."Baudelaire"4:14
12."Sylvester Stallone"3:32
Total length:52:36

Personnel

Angus & Julia Stone

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [38] Gold35,000
France (SNEP) [39] Gold50,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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