Down the Way
Angus & Julia Stone, Capitol/EMI
The glorious melodies and soulful songwriting of this brother-sister duo will sweep you up and rock you like a gentle ocean tide. Heralding from Sydney’s northern beaches, the pair has received broad airplay on Triple-J since their debut success in 2007 and rightly so. Down the Way plays to their collaborative strengths, with Julia’s little-girl voice set to a string symphony and interlaced with Angus’s soothing acoustic guitar and folk-rock offerings. It is heartbreakingly beautiful yet, at times, grips you with rock-based rigour, especially Hold On, Black Crow, For You, Big Jet Plane and And The Boys.
Aja Styles.

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Head First
Goldfrapp, Mute/EMI
Goldfrapp albums can be likened to the shoes one would wear listening to them. If Supernature was all about killer heels, The Seventh Tree was about being barefoot with anklets. Head First, then, would be rollerskates. With legwarmers. It brims with cute catchy electro pop, soaring with lead single Rocket. It’s Goldfrapp back to form – thank god. That last album was a disaster. This? Sheer brilliance. I Wanna Life, Believer and Hunt all make for fantastic music, as does the Laurie Anderson inspired closer, Voice Thing. Goldfrapp as they should be – sexing it up in the nightclub.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell

Evermore
Evermore, Warner
Being released for the first time to the UK and European markets, this is a collection of their best works over the past 10 years, together with three new tracks. Favourites Hey Boys and Girls, Light Surrounding You, and It’s Too Late (Ride On) feature, with the remix of 2005 hit For One Day. Meanwhile new song Underground follows in the vein of typical UK indie bands, while This is Love brings back the ’80s synthesiser – thankfully in more subtle hues than those used in an era famed for its lurid fashion.
Aja Styles

Lucille
The Vasco Era, Universal
This Melbourne three piece have served up something quite remarkable with this record. The overreaching narrative on Lucille is inspired, to say the least. Based on a chance encounter with a man and his female lover – who happens to be a stripper – this album imagines the density and trouble would have to face. The result is a compelling, sensitive and yet brooding ride through the dark heart of love. Memorable and distinct, this is quite accomplished for an Australian band.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell