Labels: Level Plane
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Blatant Indian Summer rip off going on here. Between songs they have some old blues / jazz record going. But that’s as far as the comparison goes to be honest. Musically You And I are a rather different beast.
Well, I’ve managed to figure out which is side a this time (no labels, don’t help!) so here goes. You And I kick your head in from the outset, the first song an absolute brain blaster. By moments it’s hectic, chaotic screamo melded with metal, then it breaks down into lovely flowing rock sections, seamlessly. Very impressive. So one minute it’s all technical and explosive like Orchid and suddenly they smash into a perfect groove a la I Hate Myself. Also gotta rate the emo breaks where they soothe you with the dark twinkle, and spoken vocals.
Additionally baffling is song #2, “Broc Landers And Mustang Candy Cake”. Pulverising and thrashed out like Combatwoundedveteran hoarse vocals, over in a flash. And when they calm you down with the depressing slowness of the intro to the following song you know you’re listening to a seriously talented band who have the knack of varying their music to just the right degree, down pat. This song incidentally has the perfect finale, kicking into an absolute driving melodic rock ending that’ll have you swaying back and forth, or spazzing out, doing the emo dance. And the next song! Genius! Can you imagine an incredibly raw early Promise Ring mixed with Yaphet Kotto? Here’s that dream realised. This track is picture perfect, bouncy, fast, and it feels so spot on. It’ll tear your heart out and refuse to give it back till it’s pulped into a rather distasteful mess.
Side B carries on relentlessly. The first track is harsh as fuck, absolutely hammering and destructive. Far too fast for your own good, it’ll bring you out in a sweat, your ears can’t keep up. But it stops you from getting complacent. Just when you though You And I were a nice sounding band too. Think again. 2nd track on this side is equally brutal, and the 3rd is the most confusing yet. Initialising with a mellowed out twinkle, it suddenly flies off the handle amidst a torrent of craziness, yet you can pick out a melodic guitar line amidst the mess. Incredible! This has as many ideas in one song as most bands achieve in the course of an album, if I explained each section of it, I would use up our space limits on the Geocities server. Album ends on another Promise Ring meets Yaphet Kotto wonder. I could do with an entire record in this style, but you can’t have everything I guess.
I had forgotten just how great this album was as it’s been a while since I listened to it. But coming back to it today reminds me. It’s a shame these guys have split up, but at least they had the decency to form Neil Perry (emo-grind-thrashers) and the Assistant (emo-metal-rock). But yes, this LP comes recommended to anyone with a love of sad-sad emo like I Hate Myself, mixed up with some of the insanely chaotic, hardcore blasts of, say, Force Fed Glass or Orchid.
This record comes with a great booklet too. And it’s on Level Plane. How can you go wrong?