Australian sibling duo Angus & Julia Stone release their seventh studio album, Karaoke Bar, today, 4th September 2026, via Virgin Music — a record shaped by travel, instinct, memory and the enduring connection at the heart of their music.
Written and recorded across Greece, France and Australia, Karaoke Bar emerges from a period of movement and creative exploration for the duo. Much of the album takes shape in the spaces between touring, with writing and recording sessions developing alongside their extensive international schedule supporting their 2024 album Cape Forestier. The contrast between life on the road and quieter periods away from the stage gives the new record a reflective, free-flowing character.
Angus & Julia Stone @ Koko
Rather than being tied to a single location or sound, Karaoke Bar carries traces of the places in which it was created. The album moves between intimate acoustic textures and more expansive, cinematic arrangements, while Angus and Julia’s distinctive unison and harmony vocals provide a constant thread throughout. At its core, the record is concerned with connection — to people, places, memories and the shared experiences that can briefly bring strangers together. Read Rockshot Magazine’s recent interview with Angus Stone here.
The album’s title track, Karaoke Bar, provides perhaps the clearest expression of that idea. Written on the Greek island of Hydra, the song grows out of late-night writing sessions and days spent beside the water, capturing the warmth and spontaneity of communal experiences. Its central idea is simple but universal: music can dissolve distance, allowing strangers to share a moment of collective release.
That sense of place runs throughout the album. Monroe is recorded during a rare week at Miraval Studios in the south of France, while Celestial Bodies, created across Hydra, Greece and Australia, takes a more expansive approach to questions of meaning and presence. Nature, weather and changing perspectives become metaphors for a deeper sense of searching and emotional discovery.
Angus & Julia Stone @ Koko
Elsewhere, The Start opens with rhythmic momentum and Julia’s bright, expressive vocals before building towards a chant-like refrain. The song embraces vulnerability while simultaneously finding a sense of liberation, setting the emotional tone for what follows. Strangely Strangely shifts the mood into something more sleek and sultry, with Angus taking the lead over a subtle flute line. Its narrative explores the point at which distance no longer needs to be bridged, instead allowing someone the freedom to follow their own path.
The album continues to move fluidly between locations and emotional states. Take Me Back to Japan looks towards Tokyo through a tender and nostalgic lens, reflecting on the lasting emotional imprint that a place can leave behind. Brightest Place, meanwhile, injects greater energy into proceedings, capturing the clarity and connection that can emerge amid movement, shared spaces and the glow of a city. There is room for humour, too. Cowgirls Lover Boi brings a playful change of pace, riding a guitar-led country groove and driving bass line as it delivers a tongue-in-cheek account of a chaotic romantic encounter. The track eventually opens out into expressive, guitar-focused instrumentation, showcasing the duo’s ability to introduce lighter touches without disrupting the album’s overall flow.
Angus & Julia Stone @ Koko
The reflective Cherry Farm returns to themes of memory, loss and the passage of time, considering how experiences from the past continue to influence the present. Closing track Mexico City then leaves the album on a more buoyant note, combining an uplifting melody with Angus’ rhythmic vocal delivery. Beneath its infectious surface is another exploration of connection, hope and the universality of heartbreak.
Together, the songs form an album that feels both intimate and expansive. Angus & Julia Stone retain the atmospheric qualities that have become synonymous with their work, but Karaoke Bar is equally interested in movement, spontaneity and the emotional connections created along the way.
The album marks another chapter in a partnership that has grown from intimate folk beginnings into a globally celebrated career. Angus and Julia first emerged with their breakthrough album A Book Like This in 2007, subsequently building a catalogue that has now accumulated more than three billion streams worldwide.
Their 2010 album Down The Way became a landmark release, earning an ARIA Award and featuring Big Jet Plane, one of the duo’s most enduring songs. Their self-titled album followed, alongside soundtrack work including music featured in Life Is Strange, while 2024’s Cape Forestier demonstrated the continued depth and reach of their songwriting. The album was followed by an international tour that included sold-out performances at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paris’ L’Olympia and New York’s Town Hall.
With Karaoke Bar, Angus & Julia Stone once again build their music around the spaces between people and places. From Hydra to Tokyo, France to Australia, the album reflects a period defined by travel and change while continually returning to the same central idea: that music has the ability to create a sense of belonging, even if only for the length of a song.
Angus & Julia Stone Transform KOKO Into A Spiritual Karaoke Bar
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