US singer–songwriter Pieta Brown and Australian Lucie Thorne have teamed up to form the international duo, Love Over Gold. Thorne has created a series of great, independently released albums, making it all the way to the final nine of the prestigious Australian Music Prize in 2010 with Black Across the Field (it was my album of the year).

Brown is less known here (she is the daughter of famous American folkie Greg Brown) but equally revered among her peers and by music critics for her own excellent solo albums. They first met during Brown’s first tour of Australia, becoming fast friends and fans of each other’s work. An Australian tour together followed, then came an opportunity to record together in Brown’s hometown in Iowa.

The sound or feel is reminiscent of Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, or even the quieter Cowboy Junkies albums. It isn’t a duet album in the traditional sense; these two beautiful voices are not obviously distinct, rather, they have come together to create something which is wonderfully sweet and beguiling. Backed by their gentle guitar playing, it is a thing of quiet joy.

Dave Clarke