Billboard and Time have both written great articles to celebrate the release of Rose Ave by You+Me.
Other sites with great articles include Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Toronto Sun and Guardian.
You may also want to read the article the accompanied the exclusive release of the song ‘Break the Cycle’ on the Huffington Post website in September.
You+Me had a small exclusive gig at ThomThom’s, Santa Monica. Thanks to social media, the lucky few who were able to attend have given the rest of us an idea of what the gig was like. I’ve got to say it looks pretty damn cool. Please let there be a tour…. one that includes a show in Perth, Australia.
In addition to the fabulous pictures below, some audience members also filmed short instagram videos. Here are some snippets of Love Gone Wrong, Open Door, No Ordinary Love, Second Guess, From A Closet in Norway (Oslo Blues) and Unbeliever.
P!nk also shared a picture of herself getting ready for the performance.
Thanks to everyone involved in the online P!nk family for sharing the love and keeping us all up to date.
Here is a photo set of Rose Ave by You + Me showing all of the album artwork. Slightly disappointed that there is no ‘thank you’ page, because P!nk always writes the funniest messages, but amazing nonetheless.
So that is the official commentary for each of the tracks. Below is a combination of the official commentary for each song and my thoughts.
Capsized- The third single that was released. The song is moody and strong. I want to stamp my feet whenever it is playing. In some weird way it reminds me of ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen.
From A Closet in Norway (Oslo Blues)- Apparently this song was partly inspired by Cate Blanchett’s 2014 Oscars speech. I cringed at hearing P!nk say this. I haven’t gone back to re-watch the speech, but from what I remember it was an erratic few minutes. At the time I thought “she’s either forgotten to take her meds or she has had too many”. Aside from this, I really like the song and LOVE the parts where P!nk hits the high notes “these highs are so *HIGH* the lows are killing me”.
Gently- The song talks about the nature of fame and music and is one of the first songs that they recorded together. Apparently P!nk was getting frustrated trying to learn it as Dallas had been working on parts of it for the past year. I like how many of the notes waver and how P!nk stretches her vocal limits to sing in a higher range. It shows a different side to her voice.
Love Gone Wrong- One of the songs that is most easy to remember from the first few listens as it repeats the song title in the chorus. It is an easy listening, smooth paced song. According to the official commentary, P!nk heard the sound from Dallas while on a treadmill during her TTAL tour in Chicago and knew from that moment that the project would work. The official commentary also revealed that P!nk wrote the second half of the lyrics really quickly which stunned Dallas. I like how it is a fun and casual song particularly the repeated use of “baby, baby”. This song has a more upbeat tempo than most of the other songs. It is the song that has the most distinction between the two voices as they each get a solo verse and chorus.
You and Me- The first single to be released which is also the name of the band. It explains the concept behind the whole album and made a statement about the sounds we could expect in the future. Despite being the first song released, it is apparently one of the last songs to recorded. Upon the release of this song there was a lot of discussion between fans about the pairing of the voices. There was speculation regarding whether or not the whole album would combine both voices for its entirety.
Unbeliever- Dallas spent the morning creating the song while P!nk was busy. The original idea and composition by Dallas was much slower than the song we know. P!nk wanted it faster and happier. The chorus is memorable and beautiful “I keep hanging on…. I keep hanging on…. and on… ooh ooh ooh… ooh ooh ooh”.
Second Guess- This song is memorable because of the layering of the song, described as ‘rounds’ by P!nk and Dallas. Friends of P!nk have declared it their faves. It was also noted as Dallas’ first recorded ‘F word’. Memorable phrases/ harmonies include “I don’t know where to go from here now” “back and forth, back and forth”
Break the Cycle- The second single that was released. This is probably the most distinctive sounding song on the whole album and right now it is my favourite. I love knowing that it is dedicated to P!nk’s mum, Judy. The song includes a lot of disconnected rhythms and sounds, but this is what makes it so good, it fits the message of ‘breaking the cycle’.
Open door- This song was written for Dallas’ parents. This song is notable for the heart tugging lyrics which include “I recall, a time when you and I would talk a little more” and “Dear mother, I know I have been away for far too long, dear mother, I hope you understand it when you hear this song”.
No Ordinary Love- This song is a cover. I am not a fan of this song. It sounds like they are wailing the same words over and over. Sorry but it is the truth….
P!nk Pandemonium 