Back in the day, You Me At Six were one of the bands that fuelled young teen emo dreams and their early albums such as ‘Take Off Your Colours’ (2008) and ‘Hold Me Down’ (2010) will always have a special place in my heart. Having consistently achieved a top five album since their second release “Hold Me Down”, they’re a force to be reckoned with. I’ve got to admit it’s been a few years since I revisited these Surrey boys but when I did, I was surprised but not disappointed.
You Me At Six’s new album ‘VI’ shows off a new side to their musicianship with clear different influences, making it impossible to pin them down into one genre. Their previous release ‘Night People’ was, according to the band themselves, somewhat of a setback with some mistakes being made, however, in a recent interview, Josh Francheschi said that they’d “achieved all of the things that we thought were completely unrealistic” in this release.
Their sixth full length release opens with the huge and upbeat Fast Forward which screams anthemic rock and what fans may classically associate with You Me At Six; dynamic, faster-paced with a big chorus. Straight to My Head is also a stand out track and exciting throughout- it’s a tune we can imagine going down a storm live as it’ll have the crowds roaring.
There’s also Back Again which has indie band Two Door Cinema Club-esque vibes to it, but I fully dig it. This song was written about recovery but not “recovery from addiction, but from losing yourself”. Throughout, there’s more electronic and synth influences showing in some tunes such as Miracle in The Mourning and 3am which accompanies some funky basslines and melodies. I particularly enjoy the RnB tinged I O U which has my head bopping along throughout with its opening bass groove.
Losing You, the closing track of the album is beautiful and heartfelt with Francheschi’s soft vocals feeling like a warm blanket providing a fitting closure to the album. It goes without saying that You Me At Six have changed over the years and they’re certainly different to the band I began listening to years ago. But does this mean it’s boring? Not at all, the boys have shown that they’re ever evolving and overall, it’s fun, confident, interesting and full of catchy anthems and surprises. They’re not scared to explore. This album should please old fans and new alike.
VI is out now on Underdog Records.
