You Me At SixVI

You Me At Six have been shooting for stadiums and beyond for the last few years. They’ve finally hit those heights with their sixth release, aptly titled VI.

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VI does not fit the sonic mould of past You Me At Six releases. Diving headfirst into new musical territories, the Surry crew have switched up their sound with an insane amount of confidence.

This isn’t You Me At Six selling out though—there’s still enough rock in the record to appeal to their legion of long term fans. Anthems like Fast Forward and Predictable are filled with roaring guitars, stomping choruses and enough bite in Josh Franceschi’s vocals to tear an arena apart.

Unashamedly proving that pop is not a dirty word, You Me At Six have embraced their mainstream sensibilities here.

But what really takes VI to the next dimension are the slinky, synth heavy moments on IOU, and the alternative pop influences on Pray for Me. Then there are the indie leanings of tracks like 3AM—ironically throwing in some riffs that would have fit right in on the AM era of the Arctic Monkeys.

Unashamedly proving that pop is not a dirty word, You Me At Six have embraced their mainstream sensibilities here. It’s this decision to take the After Laughter route (cheers Paramore), that has kicked the bands reliance on stagnant rock and roll clichés to the curb, giving them the authenticity that so many lamented was missing on their last effort, Night People.

VI marks the first occasion of the band co-producing their own record. It seems fitting then, that this release is their most laser focused. Gone is the pop punk flavour of the Myspace era, but with a new sound executed as well as this, who’s really complaining?

STANDOUT TRACKS: Fast Forward, Straight to My Head, Pray For Me
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Paramore