CAITLIN CARY & THAD COCKRELL Yep Roc Records *****

There is a long and distinguished tradition of duets in country music. The conversational and adversarial tone of the genre lends itself to the style and is enhanced by the knowledge of personal circumstance, such as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's duet on Jackson, or any one of Tammy Wynette's collaborations with then husband George Jones. And Emmylou Harris first came to notice providing the emotional foil for Gram Parsons's dark songs of love, death and cruel fate. Indeed, their work has become for many the standard against which others are judged.

As such, to place the debut collaboration of North Carolina's Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell in the same league shows just how good this collection is. Cary has a track record, first in Whiskeytown with Ryan Adams, then as a solo artist and more latterly as part of the acclaimed Tres Chicas. But it is the lesser known Cockrell who shines brightest, his classic breaking voice of emotional vulnerability a perfect counter to Cary's smoother tone.

However, this is a joint project. The duo wrote eight of the 11 tracks, and the emotional depth of songs such as Please Break My Heart, Two Different Things, Party Time and Whatever You Want belie the fact that this was a musical project without any emotional baggage. Expertly produced by Brad Jones, Begonias may turn out to be the start of a fruitful partnership - or, perhaps, maybe just a record of a time when two singers got into that "zone" when everything works. Time will tell, but this is a very impressive opening shot. www.yeproc.com