You Me at Six - Night People

The Guardian 60

(Infectious)

Surrey quintet You Me at Six make overwrought emotional anthemia that’s about as dangerous as a leather jacket. They’re also on the cusp of super-sizing into Britain’s next stadium band and this, their fifth album, has given them their second No 1. Out of all the rockers peddling the same generic chart angst – Paramore, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Fall Out Boy – at least YMAS attempt to suggest they might have gonads behind the guitars (alongside some noirish, Nasvillian touches from Kings of Leon producer Jacquire King). The title track strains to achieve Black Keysish blues by way of a crotch-thrusting, Downward Spiral-era Trent Reznor; Make Your Move and Spell It Out admirably go for some mathier, metallic riffage before the pained wails kick in; and Swear has a glossy, Rainbow Room swagger. But wait, what’s this – the kind of cheap ballad you usually hear sung by nice boys with quiffs? Generic pop-country-rock about feeling “brand new”? It’ll sound great blaring from the car radio at rush hour, but you’ll find more darkness and complexity in Twilight fan-fic.

Thu Jan 12 21:45:08 GMT 2017

The Guardian 40

(Infectious)

The Surrey rock crew have built a steady success since their 2008 debut, finally topping the UK album chart with their last effort, Cavalier Youth, and this punchy, glossy fifth album is sure to cement their success among fans of Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro. Unlike those bands, however, You Me at Six still seem to have little originality or depth to offer. The meaty, swaggering title track and the racing Plus One are exhilarating, but moments of passing interest are few among the generic likes of Heavy Soul, with its identikit alt-rock, or the Royal Blood-ish thrasher Swear (“mine’s a Jameson”? Dear Lord). Things reach their nadir on the mawkish strum-and-bawl ballad Take on the World, melodrama barrelling headlong into meaninglessness.

Sun Jan 15 08:00:10 GMT 2017