Angus & Julia Stone Return with Hydra-Inspired Album ‘Karaoke Bar’

Angus & Julia Stone will release their seventh studio album, Karaoke Bar, on 4 September through Virgin Music. The title track arrived alongside the announcement, marking the duo’s first new music since 2021.

The record owes its name and early inspiration to a trip to Hydra, the Greek island where Leonard Cohen lived for years. Late one night, at a small bar near his former home, the siblings found themselves in a room full of strangers taking turns at the microphone. That scene became the seed for the whole project. “It was a magical time on one of the strangest and most beautiful islands we’ve ever been to,” Angus Stone said. Julia Stone added, “A night at a karaoke bar can hold so much goodness. Everyone has the chance to be heard. And it’s so often more than that — a moment of real connection.”

The duo wrote the song “Karaoke Bar” during that stay, balancing late-night sessions with days spent by the water. That specific creative energy, they say, runs through the entire collection. No further details on the album’s size or guests have surfaced, but the lead single sets a tone of intimate, unhurried folk. Hydra’s quiet pull, and Cohen’s lingering presence, seem woven into the music. The track is streaming now, with the full LP to follow in early September.