After three years of silence, on Friday the Surrey five piece You Me At Six returned with their fifth full length album, Night People. Their previous record, Cavalier Youth, was definitely a mixed bag for me: it contained excellent rock tracks such as Room To Breathe and Fresh Start Fever, but also contained soft pop fillers like Be Who You Are and Carpe Diem. However, after hearing the upcoming record’s lead single, also titled Night People, my faith in You Me At Six was restored. You can listen to the track and see the music video below:
The album begins with its title track, which certainly does the job of setting the tone for the rest of the record. Its bass-y groove and simple yet effective chorus sounds like Night People is set to be a stadium or festival main stage pleaser. The pace is picked up with the short but punchy Plus One, then slowed down again for the ballad Heavy Soul, with its trademark emo lyrics and yet another powerful chorus. I’m only three tracks into the album, and I can already tell that vocalist Josh Franceschi has pushed his voice on this record, which has definitely paid off.
To me, Night People is a defiant album, telling You Me At Six’s naysayers that the band has no interest in anything doubters have to say. One of my highlights is Take On The World, the title of which gives away its message, and the lyrics are a love letter to the band’s fans who have stuck with them through thick and thin. I would also argue, however, that this record shows that the five-piece have found their niche. They’ve managed to perfect the formula for creating crowd pleasing, arena-filling singles, as well as making a name for themselves on mainstream radio which of course brings them more success.
Another highlight is the moody Spell It Out: the gentle undulating guitars and emphasis on Matt Barnes’ bass give the track a dark atmosphere, before building up to a huge crescendo of chugging riffs and an understated yet effective guitar solo. The record closes with another emo ballad, Give, which I’m certain will become a fan favourite.
After listening to this record in full, I found that I didn’t struggle to pick my stand-out tracks: each song has its own punchy chorus, catchy guitar riffs and inventive drum fills which demonstrate the band’s musical talent and ability. I don’t think Night People shatters any preconceptions, or really surprised anyone with its content, because I don’t think You Me At Six have done anything particularly inventive across these ten tracks. But as I said before, the band have definitely perfected their formula for success, and as long as they continue to create solid rock tracks like they did within this record, I think there’ll be plenty more success to come.
Highlights: Heavy Soul, Brand New, Swear, Make Your Move
altrocklife 