Rose Ave - You+Me (2014)

"They say everything it happens for a reason
You can be flawed enough, but perfect for a person
Someone who will be there when you fall apart
Guiding your direction when you're riding through the dark

Oh that's you and me"

Rose Ave. - named for the location of the studio in which it was recorded - is a collaboration between Dallas Green and Alecia Moore. Yup, otherwise known as Pink. Nope, it's not a Pink album. Well, sort of, not really. I'll explain in a sec.

I am a Pink fan. Her last three albums have permanent residence status on my iPad and I can't wait to see her live next time she tours Australia, even if I do have to sell one of the kids to be able to afford it. It's ok,  I've got three of 'em, so that's an heir and two spare, right?

I like the energy of her music. She has a very powerful voice - even when she's singing about something poignant and personal (see 'Beam Me Up' from The Truth About Love) her voice is still strong. And it's this strength that was one of the first things I noticed about Rose Ave. I think it is unusual in male/female duets for the female voice to be the stronger of the two. In comparison to hers, Green sounds far more fragile, most noticeably in 'From a Closet in Norway' and 'No Ordinary Love'. That's what I meant before: there are a couple of tracks that do sound like they have a "Pink, feat. Dallas Green" thing going on. But only a few. I think it's a combination that works brilliantly, their voices sound lovely together.

It's a very pared back, accousticy, folksy kind of collection of songs. Each track has two voices and one or two instuments. All but the last one ('No Ordinary Love', recorded by Sade) are original songs, all written in the week or so that the album was recorded (or so the interwebs tells me). Sometimes I think it does make it sound like a bit of a demo album, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. And as a first official album together, it kinda is a demo on what they can do together.

My favourite songs are:
#10 - No Ordinary Love
#5 - You and Me

Put it on, give it a few plays - even fan-girl here wasn't totally blown away after the first round - and see what you think :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tn6ckkoduzatf4b/Rose%20Ave.zip?dl=0