Third album leaning towards quirky, intelligent and inventively experimental pop by the artist from Sydney with oodles of brass, drums and funk guitar and electronica – by Annie Clark aka St Vincent and Thomas Bartlett. Moving away from her folkier roots and being the sister half of her duo Angus & Julia Stone, there is something very 1980s about these songs, and Stone’s high, breathy, slightly kittenish voice, although with a different speaking voice, is occasionally reminiscent of Cindi Lauper. The title track and We All Have, with a slightly odd backing vocal guest appearance by the ever-present serial collaborator Matt Berninger of The National, and that track particularly has a Time After Time echo. But Stone has many strings to her bow. Opener, Break has a bold element of big brass and Latin drums with African-style backing vocals, Substance and Dance both have eccentric whoops and the latter has funeral bell chime melancholy and a talky middle eight with a country guitar. So you get the feeling she is very much experimenting to find her pop style. But Stone really comes into her own in the middle of the album with the intimate ‘missing you’ song Free, Who is a fabulous electro pop song that is addictively dance floor, while Fire In Me even has elements of heavier indie rock, reminiscent, perhaps not coincidentally of Kasabian’s stomping 2009 number – Fire. Easy, Queen and Heron move into the territory of soul and RnB, while I Am No One is a lovely, melancholy love song closing track. Out on Julia Stone Pty Limited.
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