If you’re chasing down the best Pierce Brothers songs, you’ve picked the right rabbit hole to fall into. Jack and Patrick Pierce are identical twins from East Ringwood in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and they built their entire career the hard way — busking on Bourke Street back in 2009, trading sidewalk space with future stars like Tash Sultana and Tones and I before either of those names meant anything. That busking-era grit never really left the music. Even now, four studio albums deep, there’s still a stomp-and-holler urgency to their sound that most polished indie-folk acts lose the second they walk into a proper studio.
What makes Pierce Brothers worth writing about isn’t just the vocal harmonies (though those blood-harmony twin vocals are genuinely rare — you can’t fake that kind of pitch-matching, it’s baked into their DNA). It’s the way they’ve grown from a percussive, foot-stomping duo into a band willing to bring in strings, horns, and slicker production without losing the campfire honesty that made people stop walking and listen in the first place. Below are 20 tracks that trace that whole arc, from the earliest fan favorites to cuts off their newest record, Moonrise. Pull up headphones or a decent car stereo, because dynamics matter a lot in this catalog.
Amsterdam
“Amsterdam” is the song most casual fans discover first, and it earns that gateway-drug status honestly. The build is patient — a fingerpicked acoustic figure that slowly stacks percussion, gang vocals, and that unmistakable twin harmony until the chorus practically demands you sing along, even alone in your car. Lyrically it’s a travel song at heart, but it’s really about chasing a feeling rather than a place, which is why it’s translated so well to the actual city of Amsterdam, where the band has sold out venues like Paradiso. On a good pair of over-ear headphones, the layered handclaps and stomps sit wide in the mix, giving the arrangement a live-room warmth that studio reverb alone can’t fake.
Genevieve
Where “Amsterdam” is communal, “Genevieve” is more intimate — a tender character study wrapped in a melody that lingers well after the track ends. The verses lean on a softer vocal blend than the band’s usual full-throated harmonies, letting one brother carry the lead while the other adds texture underneath rather than doubling every line. It’s a good reminder that Pierce Brothers write love songs that feel observational rather than generic, with small lyrical details doing the emotional heavy lifting instead of grand declarations.
Flying Home
“Flying Home” captures the restlessness of a touring musician’s life, something Jack and Patrick know intimately after years of relentless international dates. The arrangement leans into propulsive acoustic strumming and a rhythm section that pushes forward rather than settling into a groove, mirroring the forward momentum of the lyrics. There’s a real sense of homesickness threaded through the optimism here, and that tension between wanting to be on the road and wanting to be home is something a lot of working musicians will recognize instantly.
Golden Times
Nostalgia-driven and built for a festival crowd, “Golden Times” is one of those songs that turns a room of strangers into a singalong within thirty seconds. It’s a staple of their live sets for a reason — the chorus melody is engineered (whether intentionally or not) for crowd participation, with call-and-response phrasing that translates beautifully to a live performance setting. In the studio version, the mix keeps the low end tight so the acoustic strums and vocal stacks have room to breathe, which is part of why it holds up equally well through earbuds or a proper stereo comparison test like the ones on GlobalMusicVibe’s earbud comparisons.
Brother
Few songs in the Pierce Brothers catalog carry as much personal weight as “Brother.” The track was written for the twins’ own older brother, and that specificity gives the song an emotional honesty that’s hard to manufacture. Reportedly reworked multiple times in the studio before it clicked, the final version strips things back to a mostly acoustic bed, letting the lyrics and vocal performance carry the arrangement instead of production tricks. It’s the kind of song that plays differently depending on your own family relationships — a mark of genuinely well-crafted songwriting.
Take Me Out
“Take Me Out” leans harder into the band’s blues-and-roots influences than some of their more folk-centric material, with a grittier guitar tone and a rhythmic pocket that nods toward classic roots-rock phrasing. It’s a good example of how Pierce Brothers vary their instrumentation from song to song rather than settling into one formula, keeping the broader discography feeling varied rather than repetitive.
Keep In Mind
This one rewards close listening. “Keep In Mind” builds its emotional core around a repeated melodic phrase that shifts meaning as the arrangement thickens around it — a classic songwriting trick, but one that’s executed with real restraint here rather than overplayed. The vocal performance stays conversational for most of the track before opening up in the final chorus, a dynamic arc that benefits enormously from quality playback; this is exactly the kind of song where a serious listen through gear reviewed on GlobalMusicVibe’s headphone comparisons reveals detail you’d otherwise miss on laptop speakers.
The Records Were Ours
Also the title of the duo’s 2017 live album, “The Records Were Ours” is soaked in the kind of raw, in-the-room energy you’d expect from a song built for the stage. It leans on live percussion and audience interaction cues, and honestly it’s a track that’s arguably better experienced live than on record — which says a lot about how much of the Pierce Brothers’ identity is tied to their reputation as a genuinely electric live act.
High & Unsteady
A 2023 single, “High & Unsteady” shows the band pushing toward more layered production without sacrificing the acoustic backbone that defines them. There’s a noticeable maturity in the vocal phrasing here compared to earlier material — less shouted, more controlled, with dynamics that ebb and flow rather than staying at one volume for four minutes straight. It’s a track that hints at the more self-assured songwriting that would fully bloom on their following albums.
How Sweet Is This Love (feat. Steph Strings)
The collaboration with Australian slide guitarist Steph Strings gives this track a completely different sonic palette from most of the Pierce Brothers catalog. Strings’ slide work adds a bluesy, almost lap-steel warmth that sits beautifully against the twins’ vocal harmonies, and the arrangement gives her playing genuine space rather than burying it in the mix. It’s one of the clearer examples of the band’s roots-music leanings coming through unfiltered, and a reminder that their strongest collaborations tend to come from genuine musical chemistry rather than star-power pairings.
It’s Alright
Released as a single ahead of their 2021 album Into the Great Unknown, “It’s Alright” was one of the first tracks to showcase string and horn arrangements courtesy of Ross Irwin, whose credits include The Cat Empire and Angus & Julia Stone. Patrick Pierce has spoken about how Gang of Youths’ Go Farther in Lightness inspired the band to explore that fuller, more orchestral sound, and you can hear that ambition clearly here — the strings don’t just decorate the chorus, they push the emotional stakes of the whole arrangement higher.
When It All Goes Away
A 2022 single that leans into vulnerability, “When It All Goes Away” pairs a stripped-back verse structure with a chorus that swells rather than explodes. It’s a good showcase of the band’s ability to write a slow-burn arrangement without losing listener attention, using dynamic contrast instead of volume alone to signal the emotional peak.
Follow Me Into the Dark
One of the band’s earlier singles, “Follow Me Into the Dark” leans darker both lyrically and sonically than much of their catalog, trading some of the sunnier folk-pop instincts for moodier chord voicings. It’s proof that even in their earlier years, Pierce Brothers weren’t a one-mood band — there was already range in the songwriting well before the fuller productions of later albums.
Kanko
Released as a single in the run-up to Into the Great Unknown, “Kanko” pairs percussive urgency with the string arrangements that came to define that era of the band’s sound. The horns punctuate rather than dominate, giving the track a cinematic lift without tipping into overproduction — a balance that’s genuinely tricky to pull off in indie-folk without losing the intimacy that makes the genre work in the first place.
Overdose
“Overdose” is one of the more emotionally charged entries here, built around a driving rhythm and a vocal performance that pushes into rawer, more strained territory in the chorus. That vocal grit is deliberate — it’s the kind of performance choice that trades technical polish for authenticity, and it pays off in a track that hits harder live than most studio recordings usually manage.
It’s My Fault
There’s a confessional quality to “It’s My Fault” that sets it apart lyrically — Pierce Brothers songs often deal in universal emotional territory, but this one feels pointedly personal, almost like reading a private apology. The arrangement stays relatively restrained throughout, which keeps the focus squarely on the lyric and vocal delivery rather than letting instrumentation crowd the message.
Moonrise
The title track of the band’s fourth studio album, released November 28, 2025, “Moonrise” closes out a record co-produced by Jack and Patrick alongside longtime collaborator Phil Threlfall. Following their fully self-produced 2024 album Everything Is Bigger Than Me, which peaked in the ARIA Albums Chart top 15 and earned praise from Rolling Stone Australia for its earworm hooks and vocal harmonies, “Moonrise” plays like a victory lap — warm, expansive, and unhurried in a way that only comes from a band comfortable in their own sound.
Alaska Alaska
Described by some reviewers as sitting somewhere between Bob Dylan and Eddie Vedder in its acoustic, heart-on-sleeve delivery, “Alaska Alaska” is one of Moonrise‘s clear standout folk moments. The songwriting leans into wide-open imagery and a melody that unspools slowly, rewarding patient listening over quick replay value. It’s a strong example of the band trusting a simple arrangement to do the emotional work rather than reaching for a big production swell.
I Will Love You
Opening track on Moonrise, “I Will Love You” was also chosen to feature in the Outback Mind Foundation’s men’s mental health documentary When The Dust Settles — a fitting placement given the song’s surging, heartfelt introduction and its themes of steadfast commitment. It’s a strong mission statement for the album as a whole, blending the band’s classic strengths with a noticeably more polished sonic palette.
Losing Friends When You’re Older
Easily one of the most relatable songs on Moonrise, “Losing Friends When You’re Older” tackles the quiet grief of adult friendships drifting apart, a theme that’s rarely tackled this directly in the folk-pop space. The rousing, relatable energy of the arrangement contrasts nicely with the bittersweet subject matter, which is exactly the kind of tension that makes Pierce Brothers such compelling lyricists — they rarely let a sad theme collapse into a sad-sounding song.
Taken together, these 20 tracks map out a genuinely rewarding discography, and if this list has you wanting to dig even deeper into the band’s catalog or discover similar artists, browsing through GlobalMusicVibe’s song coverage is a solid next stop. Whether you come in through the busking-era anthems or the Moonrise deep cuts, there’s a real emotional through-line here that rewards repeat listening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Pierce Brothers?
Pierce Brothers are Jack and Patrick Pierce, identical twin brothers from Melbourne, Australia, who perform as an indie-folk and blues-and-roots duo. They started out busking on Bourke Street in 2009 before building an international touring career.
What is Pierce Brothers’ most popular song?
“Amsterdam” is generally considered the band’s signature and most widely recognized song, though tracks like “Golden Times” and “It’s Alright” also rank among their most streamed and most requested live cuts.
What is Pierce Brothers’ newest album?
Their newest studio album is Moonrise, released on November 28, 2025, and co-produced by the twins alongside longtime collaborator Phil Threlfall. It features singles like “I Will Love You,” “Alaska Alaska,” and “Losing Friends When You’re Older.”
Did Pierce Brothers self-produce their music?
Yes. Their 2024 album Everything Is Bigger Than Me was fully self-produced by Jack and Patrick, marking a shift from earlier records that involved outside collaborators like Ross Irwin, who worked on the string and horn arrangements for Into the Great Unknown.
What genre is Pierce Brothers?
Pierce Brothers are typically classified as indie-folk, with strong blues-and-roots influences. Their sound has expanded over the years to include string and horn arrangements alongside their signature acoustic-driven, twin-harmony core.