Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer

Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer did not have the easiest start in life. The Alabama born sisters were still in their teens when they witnesses their abusive father murder their mother before taking his own life. Having been raised in an abusive environment, the skilled songwriters found solace in song and both gradually made their way closer to Nashville, where they managed to establish themselves as artists of the highest pedigree. With numerous accolades to their names, the sisters have often spoken about a collaborative project but have only just found time in their schedules to craft a body of work that they are ready to share with the world.

Having both shown their versatility as recording artists throughout the years, what is most impressive about their debut duet album, Not Dark Yet, is that the two vocalists are completely in sync throughout the record. Predominantly a covers record, this is a collection of the songs that have shaped their individual sounds. From rock to roots, Not Dark Yet takes in everyone from Nirvana to The Killers to The Louvin Brothers, and in doing so offers up a real insight into the diversity of the 22 solo albums they have released since Shelby's 1989 debut Sunrise.

A roots record to the very core, this may be an album of covers but it is one that sees the artists at the core take full possession of the material and make it their own. Opening with a magnificently melancholic rendition of The Killers' My List, the sisters show that the world has waited for their glorious musical union.

While there is no denying that the duo more than do justice to Bob Dylan's Not Dark Yet or Jessi Colter's I'm Looking For Blue Eyes, it is when they totally re-shape your expectations of a song that the album is the most poignant. A truly inspired slow-grind reworking of Nirvana's Lithium comes close to being the album's highlight, as the real emotion and raw delivery both encapsulate the grit of the original and the overriding feeling of the record.

However the duo steal the show with the only original composition on the record, the closer Is It Too Much. Brooding, bold and so very heart wrenching, this is a song that leaves you not just wanting, but needing to hear more from these exceedingly talented sisters.