Harvest of Gold

The waiflike vocals of Gossling (a.k.a. Helen Elizabeth Croome) lend a deceptive sweetness to her musical tales of discontent and heartache. Elements of ‘60s girl-group pop, European chanson, and electronica stew about in the Australian singer/songwriter’s debut album, Harvest of Gold; it's all held together by her incisive lyrics and billowing melodies. “That Feeling” and the title track catch her at her most uplifting; “A Lover’s Spat” and “Songs of Summer” (a duet with Sparkadia’s dusky-voiced Alexander Burnett) display her more tormented side. Restrained production gives Croome plenty of room to burn with soft but insistent intensity.