Angus & Julia Stone - A Book Like This

With so many artists wanting to whack us over the head with their influences and impress upon us how great the breadth of their musical knowledge is, this album comes as a genuine relief. So delicate and whispered are Angus and Julia Stone's songs that, were you to probe them too roughly, they would surely shatter or take flight. Like a shy cat this LP should be left in the background until it feels comfortable in your presence and gives all that it has to offer. This is not wallpaper music, however, and once confidence is established The Beast, Wasted, Soldier and Another Day come out from the shadows to cast their soft seductive spell. It is a rare, fragile and beautiful thing that these siblings have created in A Book Like This, but be sure to whisper it; any louder and you might scare them away. [Neal Parsons]