Single Review: You + Me – ‘Break The Cycle’
2 min read
You + Me is a brand new folk duo consisting of Alecia Moore and Dallas Green: names that don’t obviously ring any bells in the minds of listeners.
The artists known otherwise as acrobatic, arena-filling pop superstar P!nk and Canadian folk singer-songwriter City and Colour respectively have dropped a stellar second single off their debut collaboration album rose ave, in Break The Cycle.
Moore once admitted that she is hardly asked to sing at barbecues hosted by singer-songwriter friends, despite (or because of) her status as an icon in the corporate music world. However, on Break The Cycle, her incredible vocal talent and ability to sing just any genre (including RnB) are again on display. She shows off the subtler, gentler nuances of her voice (especially on the opening and closing breathy ‘hoo-yaaa’s), instead of heart-piercing, gritty belting designed to hit the back of an arena.
Compared to the slow-burning, eponymous debut single, this waltzy track stridently moves forward with its optimistic orchestral hook. At first, the stop-start verses are a forlorn affair. Moore and Green simply sing the same notes just an octave apart. The effect is beautiful yet eerie, as their voices echo into almost nothing.
The choruses are almost like the brighter day to the night of the verses, as Moore and Green finally harmonise. Moore’s double-tracked voice wraps itself around Green’s more matter-of-fact vocal delivery like a warm furry coat. The final call-and-response chorus is particularly uplifting and hopeful, and really nails down the message that love is louder than internal pain.
Overall, Break The Cycle is a breathtakingly beautiful track that rivals famous folky collaborations like that between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss a few years back. The exquisite harmonies by Green and Moore prove that creatively, they are kindred spirits. The upcoming collaboration album should therefore be highly anticipated.
