This Week's Releases

This week's latest and greatest… 

Angus & Julia Stone - Snow (EMI)

Just when you thought Angus & Julia Stone couldn't get better, they leave you breathless. Snow is captivating with its magical folk tunes and dreamy vocals as the Sydney-born siblings dazzle through every written and produced track. Julia's la la's open the album with Snow, with its soft guitars and Angus' rugged dreamy vocals accompany his sister's. Oakwood has a more rock-folk vibe with a rhythm that almost sounds like Fleetwood Mac before Angus' hypnotic vocals take over.

"With the Big Jet Plane days behind them, Angus & Julia Stone are back better than ever." Aneta Grulichova. Album Of The Week, four stars.

Foo Fighters - Concrete & Gold (Sony)

When you think of Foo Fighters, it's easy to just think of huge, stadium-filling rock songs. You know, like Best Of You, The Pretender and My Hero. It's just as easy to forget that this six-piece monster of a band started out with just Dave Grohl, playing songs like Big Me, Floaty and For All The Cows by himself on his 1995 post-Nirvana project, Foo Fighters. What Foo Fighters ninth studio album offers is a blend somewhere between the two; moments of big '70s rock sounds, balanced with softer lullaby-esque tracks.

"What Foo Fighters set out to achieve with Concrete & Gold was to challenge themselves, and in turn, they've also challenged their listeners in the best way possible." Jessica Dale, four stars.

Prophets Of Rage - Prophets Of Rage (Sony)

If the response to recent shows is any indicator, Prophets Of Rage could have focused on earning a lucrative living knocking out predominantly covers sets on foreign festival circuits. However, the Rage Against The Machine/Public Enemy/Cypress Hill amalgam have the Trump administration, racism, homelessness and more to dissect on their debut LP. Mission statement Unfuck The World readily attested that this all-star hard rock/hip-hop outfit's filled with big voices and even bigger personalities, so achieving a songwriting balance could have been problematic. Not every song proves memorable, but the majority work and ego clashes aren't a consideration as they're clearly revelling in this new environment.

"Take Me Higher, Smashit and stomping Who Owns Who are simply aching to be performed live." Brendan Crabb, three and a half stars.