When your debut album connects in a big way, and you enjoy nothing but success for the first four albums of a career that continues on an upwards trajectory taking you to Download second stage headline performances and sold out arenas; when you achieve everything you ever set out to achieve as a band within that first ten years, there are two things you can be forgiven when stepping into your second decade.
The first is in wanting to redefine and reinvent yourself – no band that isn’t called Motörhead should want to sound the same ten years down the line. The second is in not getting it right the first time.
Last year’s Night People (Infectious), where You Me At Six attempted to find the magic that catapulted Kings of Leon into the stratosphere with a stripped back bluesier vibe was a misstep. But rather than try and force a skin that was clearly ill-fitting, and aware that returning to the Pop-Punk that brought them much of their success would be like running back to mummy, fair play to the group for refocusing themselves on VI (Underdog/AWAL), and for figuring out who they wanted to be.
Anyone seeking raucous guitars is digging in the wrong place, but this is You Me At Six, who have never worried themselves with overly distorting things in any case. So, yes, the six strings are a buried supporting cast these days, as, in the main, VI is shiny, full of dancy, funky action, taking more from the world of modern pop and the minimalistic simplicity of synth-hooks with oceans of space washing around each song, than their Rock or Punk (used loosely) heritage. And it’s all done in a way that doesn’t feel disingenuous, or soulless, yet… just an exploration of a new journey. The complete abandonment of rock may well come at a later date depending on how far down the path they tread, but at the moment, there is more than enough to link them to the recent direction of Bring Me The Horizon and to remain tied to our world.
One notable difference is Josh Franceschi’s vocals, where his early characterising traits have been toned down, but replaced with a consummate performance; idiosyncrasies replaced with a stronger all-round performance that provide earworms over the electro-rocker ‘Fast Forward’, or the (very) radio-friendly pairing of ‘3am’ and ‘I O U’. Like the album as a whole, a smoother, more polished presentation takes place at the expense of character or passion, but work in the context of what they’re trying to do.
Whether their old fanbase will come with them, or if they are relying on their mainstream status to bring them a new, younger, pop audience, time will tell. VI is never going to top any “Albums of the Decade” charts, but as a step for a once Pop-Punk band moving steadfastly into the world of Alternative Pop, the reimaging and refocusing has been a success.
6.0/10
STEVE TOVEY