formerly high horse by You & Me

com:

Texas Band You & Me Rides "Formerly High Horse"

September 1, 2005 - If you've ever spent a Sunday afternoon on the porch drinking tea, lighting up and listening to Frank Zappa - step away from the turntable and rip "Formerly High Horse" by You & Me to your ipod. You & Me is the latest project by long-time Dallas musicians Patrick Lenihan, William Kelley and Jason English.

The first track, "billy jack," serves up that Texas sound in a beat up pick-up truck that's taken a left turn down a dusty road. With cheeky lyrics and wailing vocals by English and discordant riffs by Lenihan and Kelley, it's like Austin City Limits was lifted by a tornado and smashed into CBGB.

"my rocketship" is a send off to the prog rock songs of old; think early Genesis or Crimson with an appropriate homage to Bowie. It's a rockin' tune that travels through the stratosphere and is then unfettered by a jazz-infused drumbeat delivered by guest drummer Sal Torneo.

The funky bass line of "messages" discloses You & Me's Denton ties. The lyrics are intelligent if a little cramped. But if you're looking for a little ditty to lodge its chorus in your brain, listen to "deng xiao ping." People may consider you an astute scholar of Chinese diplomacy as you stroll down the street falsetto-ing "Deng Xiao Ping, Deng Xiao Ping, Deng Xiao Ping, Xiaoping." It's English and Lenihan at their best.

Torneo returns on track nine and reveals his speed-metal heritage. Delivered at half-time he pulls together the ending for "traveling light."

REVIEW from Jason M. at SAMPLE PRESS:

When I read the description "modern alterna-pop meets 70s prog rock" in the band's press kit, I engaged in a bit of head scratching. I pondered it's import briefly before playing the disc and, after listening to it, I don't know that the description is really adequate or entirely accurate. There are lots of laid back melodies like "Billy Jack" and "Gypsies", both of which are poppy in that Guided By Voices slant. "Drunk Man" sounds like it was a lot of fun to jam on, with the lyrics and chorus invoking the modern alterna-pop deities. At the end of the song things dissolve/evolve into a proggy outro. It's cool, but a bit long. In fact, some of the noodling seems to go on a bit longer than it should throughout the album. Overall the record sounds like it might've been made in the 70s (that's not a bad thing) with more than a few nods to classic big radio rock. Worth a listen.

Average Customer Review: