First Play: Dear Rouge, Black to Gold

Named as one of Radio 3's 15 most anticipated albums of 2015, the time for Dear Rouge is finally here. Black to Gold marks the married Vancouver duo's major label debut, and it's a huge leap forward for the electro-pop act. You can listen to the record one week before its release in the player above, and pre-order Black to Gold here.

Danielle and Drew McTaggart have been making music as Dear Rouge since 2012. They won the Peak Performance Project that year (with a prize of $102,700), and it's been nothing but up, up, up ever since.

That momentum is evident on the first four tracks, all pounding heartbeats and propulsive dance parties. But there's something wonderfully hypnotic about the excitement and it's not until the fifth track, "Wanna, Wanna," that you find the space to slow down and realize you actually need to catch your breath.

This segues nicely into the gentle beauty of the next song, "October Second," which finds the duo experimenting with call-and-answer vocals. It's an intimate give-and-take that's particularly effective since Drew's voice typically takes a backseat to Danielle's lead vocals.

Black to Gold benefits from Dear Rouge's decision to take their time. Every song is fully realized, confident, polished. It's the sound, also, of two people who know each other: the clarity of Dear Rouge's voice, the threads that connect all of the songs together; that's the real magic of genuine partnership.

Find me on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner