Video debut: Australia’s Angus & Julia Stone channel the magic of L.A. folk

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There must be a canyon or two near the Northern Beaches of Sydney. The brother-sister duo of Angus & Julia Stone, raised in that lovely surf community, cultivate a very similar vibe (and beardy, poncho-y look) popular with young L.A. folk revivalists from Highland Park’s hills to Topanga’s historic hideaways.

Despite the tonal similarity between Julia’s voice and that of Joanna Newsom, these two aren’t just baby hippies. Along with their countryfolk Liam Finn and Eliza Jane Barnes and the Swell Season’s Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, they’re shedding new light on the intense but often subtle dynamics of male-female collaboration.

Chart-toppers in their own country, the Stone siblings create the kind of music -- quiet, but driving, and rich with aura -- that turns casual listeners into cultish fans. They’ve been touring on the strength of their second Nettwerk Records album, ‘Down the Way,’ selling out venues nationwide. The Stones return to Los Angeles with a show Oct. 5 at the El Rey that begins a new American tour; dates are posted below.

Until the Stones arrive, enjoy this new video for ‘Hold On,’ directed by Kiku Ohe, who also made the clip for their gently devastating previous single, ‘Big Jet Plane.’ This time out, Angus and Julia seem to have wandered into one of those vast, arid landscapes U2 wisely abandoned around 1990, and fallen into peril. Whatever’s happening to them, the song stays afloat, a Northern light on the horizon.

Angus and Julia Stone fall tour dates after the jump:

Oct. 5 -- Los Angeles, El Rey

Oct. 6 -- San Francisco, the Independent

Oct 8 -- Austin, Texas, Zilker Park (‘Austin City Limits’)

Oct. 11 -- Seattle, the Crocodile

Oct. 12 -- Vancouver, Canada, Venue

Oct. 13 -- Portland, Ore., Aladdin Theater

Oct. 18 -- Northampton, Mass., Iron Horse

Oct. 20 -- Philadelphia, World Café Live

Oct. 22 -- Brooklyn, N.Y., Bell House (CMJ)

Oct. 24 -- Hoboken, N.J., Maxwell’s

Oct. 28 -- Toronto, Opera House

Oct. 29 -- Montreal, Le National

Oct. 30 -- Quebec City, Canada, Le Cercle

-- Ann Powers

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