“You and me, we belong together, just like a breath needs the air.”
You+Me is a collaboration that I have been waiting for ever since a youtube video popped up online of a City & Colour show where P!nk came out and sang “What Makes a Man” with Dallas on stage.
Dallas and Alecia are fantastic songwriters in their own genres, and together a seemingly odd couple. One is a pop superstar, and the other is a highly decorated veteran of the indie scene. Something most would never imagine as an act that would work so well together and create something so beautiful.
On the first listen, Rose Ave. sounds like something that’s been in the writing process for years. When in fact, 8 of the 10 songs on the album were written and recorded in 6 days. There is an undeniable and magical chemistry between the two. Dallas and Alecia sound like they’ve been writing together for years, and this debut sounds more like a 3rd or 4th release in a band’s catalog.
The album is a cohesive, and thoughtful work of art. Admittedly, it sounds a lot like City and Colour with a 2nd vocalist. Yet, this is one of the times an album sounds the way you hope it would. City and Colour’s indie sound with a flawlessly paired female vocalist. This project doesn’t sound like Dallas featuring Alecia or vice versa. It sounds like You+Me.
This is a beautiful album made by two close friends who wanted to make music together out of a mutual love and respect for one another. This could’ve easily been a private passion project for them, and we wouldn’t have ever had the chance to hear it. Lucky for us, they decided to share it with the world.
Rose Ave. is easily one of my favorite releases of 2014. It may not get all the plays other albums have gotten all year, but when I do listen to it, it’s on repeat for days at a time.
Rating 4/5
Key Tracks: You and Me, Break the Cycle, No Ordinary Love
Recommended if you like: City & Colour, and any folk music with male/female vocals.
You can pick it up here on iOS or Amazon, or if you like a physical version.
