Vika and Linda is the debut studio album by Australia vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was released in May 1994 and debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Australian ARIA Charts in June 1994.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995, the album was nominated for Breakthrough Artist â Album, but lost to Frogstomp by Silverchair.
Ed St John from Rolling Stone Australia wrote: "It's the simplest of ideas: take two of Australia's best singers, find them a bunch of great original songs, and then put them in the studio with a sympathetic producer and the best band you can muster. Not surprisingly, the results here are frequently exceptional. Beautifully played - with an accent on subtle arrangements and largely acoustic instruments - the album is imbued with a warm inner glow and a genuine musical depth. Perhaps because of the contributions of such a broad diversity of writers - and thanks also to the fact that Vika and Linda Bull possess strikingly different voices - the album moves effortlessly across a spectrum of styles but, for the most part, is a very laid-back, often country-flavoured affair. Still, far from getting bogged down in a single groove, Vika and Linda is a real feast.
It's not the kind of album where singles, or "standout tracks", are easy to pick. Sure, the first single "When Will You Fall For Me" has a terrific rousing chorus. Three of the Paul Kelly songs are killers, including the slow reggae of "We've Started A Fire" and the funky "I Know Where to Go to Feel Good". Also intriguing is "Ninety Nine Years", a song Kelly wrote with the Bull sisters. Utilising eastern tones and a haunting melody, it marks an interesting and very appealing departure for all three artists."
Double J ranked the album at #48 on their list of The 50 Best Australian Albums of the 90s, complementing the "pure, clear voices â Vika's low and gutsy, Linda's high and bright â meld into glorious harmonies, often the case with siblings but rarely done this well. The result is catchy songs with warmth at their core, both the comforting and the fiery kind."
1995 bonus disc