Today, Huffington Post premiered “Break the Cycle,” the second single from rose ave., the much anticipated project from P!nk and City and Colour, aka You and Me. The song is only the second offering we’ve heard from the newly formed duo, and once again it does not disappoint.
On the first play of the song, I thought I hit the wrong button on my iPhone and accidentally played a Mariah Carey song. The airy harmony of low and high cooing “ooh yeah” that open the song sound very Mariah. The whole structure of these You+Me songs, so far, are a lot like how she does some of her songs. Except, Mariah harmonizes with herself, the lows and highs, across octaves. It is a testament to the masterful harmony between P!nk and Green; they are able to seamlessly interwine their voices and sound as one. You plus me, truly.
However, not much else on the track echoes Mariah. The dramatic strings and acoustic guitars create an unique and beautiful atmosphere in which the heartfelt vocals and lyrics live. P!nk told the Huffington Post that the song was originally intended to be a “love song” for her mom, but didn’t quite turn out that way. Thematically, the song seems to be about someone who has unfortunately succumbed to unhealthy relationships in their life and is urged to “break the cycle.”
From the pair’s lead single, “You and Me,” one could have assumed the album to be full of similarly sparse acoustic productions centered around a guitar, however, the second single breaks any chance of that cycle continuing. Another solid effort from what is shaping up to be one of 2014’s best albums. Watch “The Story of You+Me” below.