Review: "Sixty Summers" - Julia Stone

Both parts of Australian folk-rock duo Angus & Julia Stone have followed their own musical paths since the release of their 2017 album Snow, a release I affectionately consider to be the ultimate Summer album. Brother Angus Stone operates under the moniker Dope Lemon and his 2019 solo release, Smooth Big Cat, carries forward the playful nature of tracks like Make It Out Alive and Who Do You Think You Are, creating a summery, though much more atmospheric sound, that often takes on experimental and psychedelic tones. In April 2021, it was Julia’s turn as she released her album Sixty Summers, her first release since Snow and her first solo album in 9 years.

It would be wrong to review this album without mentioning the album cover which is an artwork in its own right. A vibrant and abstract landscape featuring Picasso-esque depictions of Julia. It’s a picture that opens itself to many interpretations and no matter how many times you look at it, you’ll spot something new. In this regard, it does an excellent job of inviting intrigue towards the contents of the album.

Sixty Summers at its peaks is an electric, soulful, and vibrant listen. It offers banging hook after banging hook as well as harder instrumentals than we’d typically expect to accompany Julia Stone’s voice, most notably on tracks such as Who and Fire In Me. Several tracks on the album, with the best example being title track Sixty Summers, feature layered instrumentals, which help build tension towards a climax at the end of the song.

The album’s biggest strength is in a masterful command of song structure. She doesn’t fall for many pop-rock tropes, such as writing a deliberately boring 3rd verse so the final hook will be SUPER EXCITING by comparison. The album adopts a traditional song structure throughout without ever becoming repetitive, building songs that flow seamlessly from part-to-part and maintain their energy through out. Because of this, these aforementioned climactic points are achieved frequently and on merit, through melody, instrumentals, and vocal performance. Even tracks like Easy and Queen with more muted introductions evolve into real ear-worms after not too long.

Another key strength is Stone’s unwillingness to let songs coast from start to finish. Throughout the tracklist, she drops in subtle moments to help songs elevate beyond what they’ve already established themselves as, be it the funky guitar riffs at the end of Break, the chimes in the chorus of Dance, or the electric guitar that sees out Free. Even in All We Have, this is achieved with the addition of a Matt Berninger (of The National) who brings a deep, soothing register and certainly makes his presence felt on this song in just the four lines he appears for.

While we’re talking vocals, let’s cover possibly the biggest aspect this album has going its favour, the vocals of Julia Stone herself. She has a very distinct style to her voice which allow her in many instances on this album to half-whisper her vocals without coming close to getting drowned out by the instrumentals. There’s a range to her voice that is seen throughout, from the almost whispered verses, we also hear hooks where she’s almost reaching a falsetto-pitch, as well as dramatic, raspy vocals reminiscent of Bonnie Tyler in Total Eclipse of the Heart in the album’s title track.

There’s simply a lot to like on this album, standout tracks for me are Sixty Summers, Who, and Dance, and I also enjoyed the run of tracks at the end of the album, with songs Heron and I Am No One containing some beautiful sounding moments, with the final track possibly sounding the most sonically similar to an Angus & Julia Stone track. We’re also treated to a French version of Dance at the back end of the album and it’s even hard to argue with its inclusion, although it would have been cool to have the translation cover the whole song rather than just the verses. That said, there is something about the language that lends itself nicely to Julia Stone’s voice.

Sixty Summers - an impressive feat, a pop album with an identity, and if I’m awarding numbers in this review it gets a strong fifty five summers out of sixty.