Sixty Summers

Sixty Summers
Studio album by
Julia Stone
Released30 April 2021 (2021-04-30)
Recorded2015–2019[1]
Length43:35
LabelBMG
Producer
Julia Stone chronology
By the Horns
(2012) 		Sixty Summers
(2021) 		Everything is Christmas
(2021)
Singles from Sixty Summers
  1. "Break"
    Released: 16 July 2020[2][3]
  2. "Unreal"
    Released: 4 September 2020[4][5]
  3. "Dance"
    Released: 30 October 2020[6]
  4. "We All Have"
    Released: 29 January 2021[7]
  5. "Fire in Me"
    Released: 19 March 2021[8]

Sixty Summers is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Julia Stone. The album was announced on 30 October 2020 alongside the release of the album's third single, "Dance", and was released on 30 April 2021.[9][10]

Background and recording

The album was recorded sporadically between 2015 and 2019 and was shaped by Stone's key collaborators on the album, Doveman, and St. Vincent. Together, Bartlett and Stone wrote and recorded over 50 demos in his studio in New York, Stone said "Making this record with Thomas, I felt so free. I can hear it in the music, he brings a sense of confidence to recording sessions."[1] Clark, once presented with the work Bartlett and Stone had made together, fashioned Sixty Summers into the album it is, contributing vocals and guitar in addition to production.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
Evening Standard[12]
Gigwise[13]
The Independent[14]
NME[15]

Upon release, Sixty Summers received "universal acclaim" from critics, achieving a score of 82 on Metacritic based on 4 reviews.[11] A four star review from The Independent praised Stone for reinventing herself, with the album being called "a celebration of newly claimed liberty".[14] The Evening Standard described the album's sound as "on a whole new planet" and made comparisons to the Taylor Swift album Folklore, with the two albums sharing collaborators in Thomas Bartlett and Matt Berninger.[12] In a more mixed review, Gigwise praised Stone for "eagerness to embrace a more elated sound is wholly admirable" but that "certain lyrical ideas sit a touch on the nose".[13] David James Young from NME said the music is "some of the most interesting music she's ever made".[15]

Mid-year lists

Sixty Summers on mid-year lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
The Music The Music's Top 25 Albums Of 2021 (So Far) —
[16]

Track listing

All tracks written by Julia Stone and Thomas Bartlett, except where noted.

Sixty Summers track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Break" 
3:23
2."Sixty Summers"
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
3:19
3."We All Have" (featuring Matt Berninger) 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
2:39
4."Substance"
3:01
5."Dance" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
2:59
6."Free"
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
  • Hume[a]
2:46
7."Who" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
3:00
8."Fire in Me"
  • Stone
  • Cobbe
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
2:34
9."Easy" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
3:51
10."Queen"Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
2:51
11."Heron" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
2:58
12."Unreal" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
3:29
13."I Am No One" 
  • Stone
  • Doveman
  • St. Vincent
3:44
14."Dance" (French version) (bonus track)  3:01
Total length:43:35

Charts

Chart performance for Sixty Summers
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 192
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 183
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 64
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 79

References

  1. ^ a b c "Julia Stone announces album Sixty Summersout 19 Feb". amnplify. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ Triscari, Caleb (13 July 2020). "Julia Stone teases new song "Break" produced by St. Vincent". NME. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Break - single". Apple Music. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Julia Stone Announces Headline Shows in Support of New Single". The Music AU. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Unreal - single". Apple Music. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Julia Stone's video for new single "Dance" will feature Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover". NME. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Julia Stone shares new single "We All Have" featuring The National's Matt Berninger". NME. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. ^ ""Fire in Me" - Out March 19th". Facebook. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Julia Stone Announces New Album + Shares New Single". Milky Milky Milky. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  10. ^ Hussey, Allison (29 January 2021). "Julia Stone Shares Video for New Song With the National's Matt Berninger". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Sixty Summers by Julia Stone". Metacritic. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b Smyth, David (30 April 2021). "Julia Stone - Sixty Summers review: Long-awaited release exists on a whole new planet". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b Smith, Harrison (20 April 2021). "Album Review: Julia Stone - Sixty Summers". Gigwise. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b O'Connor, Roisin (29 April 2021). "Royal Blood review – Typhoons, plus Julia Stone – Sixty Summers". The Independent. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Julia Stone – 'Sixty Summers' review: an imperfect, joyful art-pop reinvention". NME Australia. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Are these the best albums of 2021 so far?". The Music. 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Julia Stone – Sixty Summers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Julia Stone – Sixty Summers" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Julia Stone – Sixty Summers" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Julia Stone – Sixty Summers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 May 2021.