Angus and Julia Stone’s new album is a lesson in patience. The old adage “good things come to those who wait” comes to mind as you listen to the 13 tracks on this sibling duos’ new album Down the Way. The Australian natives do a great job making a peaceful melodic album that makes you want to go sit on an empty beach and watch the birds fly over head as a 75 degree breeze washes over your skin. The problem is you have to wait a good 2 minutes before most of their songs get going, but if you are willing to sit back, relax and enjoy slow melodic intros than you will be in for a treat as there are plenty of catchy choruses to leave you feeling satisfied. The highlights include “Black Crow” that keeps things moving with a driving rhythm, “Big Jet Plane” with it’s palm muted guitar riff and “And The Boys” that provides the chick singalong.

Again patience seems to be a virtue because besides the slow intros the album itself feels a little long at 13 tracks, some of which push the 6+ minute mark. Songs like “On the Road,” “Hush” and “I’m Not Yours” would not have been missed and leave you wishing they had trimmed the fat before deciding on a final track list. There are plenty of inviting slow songs here but besides the length of the album it might take several listens to get use to Julia’s child-like vocals. Julia brings the cute female voice to a whole new level and although the siblings sound great in harmony, when she takes the lead her almost fairy tale like sweetness can become distracting. This is a shame because songs like “Hold On,” “For You” and Walk It Off” are worth listening to but might get ruled out too quickly based on an overly sweet vocal. The bottom line is besides all the caveats there are some solid tunes on this album that could be real winners on a summer playlist or a relaxing drive down country roads. Plus the siblings seem to be headed in the right direction from their earlier releases with a more mature sounding album that shows real promise. Although there’s still some tweaking to be done your friends here at MOR have taken the guess work out and provided you with the real winners below – enjoy.

Album Highlights:

Black Crow
Big Jet Plane
And the Boys
For You
Walk It Off