Stimmlich taumelt man zwischen Angus klarer und Julias eckig, prägnanter Stimme hin und her und mag für den Moment des Hörens alle Hintergrundgeräusche ausblenden. Ihr neues Album Down The Way gefällt – ein hypnotisierender Charme, dem sich wohl niemand entziehen kann.
(musiktrieb. com)
Ein wunderbar vielseitiges Album.(roteraupe. de)
The Stone siblings grew up in a beach town near Sydney, but their second album as a vocal / guitar duo sounds like it was made by Americans with a yen for Fleetwood Mac and Joanna Newsom.
(guardian. co. uk)
Once you get into step, the yin and yang of his and hers make for a deft emotional map. She sounds edgy, all heartstrings; he’s chilled, all ennui. Hung across minimal, beautiful songs, it’s a powerful mix of gentle angst.
(bbc. co. uk)
Ihre verträumte Popmusik, von akustisch bis folkig, lebt besonders durch die Balance zwischen Angus' klaren und Julias fragil gehauchten Gesang. Gerade diese Kombination macht ihre Musik so intensiv. Für ihr Debüt "A Book Like This" wurden sie in ihrer Heimat mit diversen ARIA-Preisen belohnt. Die eigene Fanbase hierzulande wächst stetig, doch auch Anhänger von Martha Wainwright, Emiliana Torrini und Joanna Newsom werden voll auf ihre Kosten kommen!
(amazon.de)
Only three years passed between the Stones’ debut and this follow-up record, but the siblings seem to have aged exponentially in the interim. While 2007’s A Book Like This found the two setting their own adolescence to a soundtrack of acoustic guitars and sparse percussion, Down the Way is a decidedly adult album, filled with textured arrangements and a wider array of influences. Angus and Julia handle their own production this time around, and the resulting songs jump from panoramic chamber pop — often with a rootsy, Americana edge — to bedroom folk songs, with both members trading off vocals and instrumental duties. Julia still sings in a soft, fairy tale voice, but her own songs are bolder than they once were, with tracks like “Hold On” taking much of their strength from the contrast between her gauzy, childlike croon and the nocturnal-sounding instruments that surround it. Even so, brother Angus gets the “most improved” award, having moved past the solo folk songs he favored on A Book Like This (although some of those show up here, too) in favor of lush, collaborative material. On “Draw Your Swords,” one of the album’s three tunes to stretch past six minutes, he rips into the final refrain with gusto, shouting the lyrics in a cracked baritone before adopting a Jeff Buckley-ish falsetto. Down the Way may be a bit long by 2010’s standards — there are 13 tracks here, none of which is particularly short — but the songs are solid throughout.
(by Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide)
#12 in Jahresliste 
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