Angus & Julia Stone have announced new album Karaoke Bar, out on September 4th via Virgin Music.
The album was created across multiple locations in Greece, France, and Australia. It marks the beginning of a new chapter for the duo, who have maintained a distinct style since the release of their debut EP Chocolates and Cigarettes and breakthrough album A Book Like This in 2007.
Angus & Julia Stone have shared the title track to mark their album announcement. Listen to the single below.
The sibling duo wrote the track while travelling abroad, reflecting on the feeling of a night out on the Greek Island of Hydra, near the former home of iconic singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.
“It was a magical time on one of the strangest and most beautiful islands we’ve ever been to,”Angus recalls.
Julia adds: “A night out at a karaoke bar can hold so much goodness… that’s what the song is about. Everyone has the chance to be heard. And it’s so often more than that, a moment of real connection. We’re together, singing with a roomful of strangers, and the things that normally separate us, fall away.”
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Angus & Julia Stone’s 2010 album Down the Way became a breakout moment for the duo, reaching the top spot on the Australian charts and earning them multiple ARIA Awards, including a win for Album of the Year.
Their most recent album, Cape Forestier (2024), was also an ARIA nominee, this time for Best Adult Contemporary Album.
The pair told Rolling Stone AU/NZ in a 2024 interview about coming back together to make Cape Forestier.
“There’s an authenticity to having that time away and discovering what it is you’re looking for when you write a song,” Angus told us. “That ‘coming home’ feeling is what this recording represents for us — heading back to the garage and recording in the living room. We want to bring people into that space, which is what the tour has been set up to be.”
Angus & Julia Stone’s “Karaoke Bar” (title track) is out now. Karaoke Bar (album) is out September 4th via Virgin Music (pre-save/pre-order here).
