Night People (You Me at Six album)

You Me at Six released their fourth studio album Cavalier Youth in January 2014.[1] The group supported it with an 18-month long touring cycle,[2] which included the band's first arena tour,[3] and ended with an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in June 2015. Following this, the band's social media accounts went inactive.[2] After the preceding ten years of constant touring, the band members went on a break,[4] which vocalist Josh Franceschi considered to be "necessary to appreciate the things we had, to get off the ride for a little bit."[5] During the break, the band members refrained from listening to the radio or rock albums, instead consuming hip hop, UK grime, soul and funk music.[5]

In an interview with Kerrang! in May 2015, guitarist Max Helyer revealed that the band would be meeting up in the summer to work on new ideas.[6] Franceschi said that due to the touring schedule for Cavalier Youth they didn't write any new material between 2013 and 2015.[7] In the autumn, the band built a personal studio at drummer Dan Flint's house, which would allow them to work whenever they wished.[4][8] The band visited Flint's studio as often as three or four times a week to write new material;[9] the group ended up writing 50–60 new songs.[10] Following demoing sessions in Sheffield with Ross Orton, the vision for the group's next album began to form,[9] as Franceschi explains: "Out of that process we knew that we were necessarily going down the right route—musically, mentally, everything."[5]

You Me at Six reconvened in January 2016 with no immediate plans to record a new album, nor any idea of who might produce it.[11] After having discussions with several different producers, the group were approached by Jacquire King[4] in early February.[11] King offered the band the chance to record in Nashville, Tennessee,[4] and "literally three days later", according to Franceschi, the band boarded a plane to Nashville.[11] The group was so eager to record that they flew before their management had been able to figure out accommodation in the city.[9] In the past, the group had "screaming matches with some of our producers", according to Franceschi; to avoid stressing out King or themselves, the band's management recommended they took a meditation class prior to recording.[12] Recording for Night People took place at Black Bird Studios with King producing the sessions.[13]

The group entered the studio with six to eight songs,[14] and planned to record for three weeks.[12] King wanted to record a rock album with the band, something he hadn't done since Kings of Leon's Only by the Night in 2008. According to Franceschi, King's "attitude was very much, ‘I can’t have you make a record with me unless it’s your best record, and I want it to be the best rock record I’ve made.’"[14] The group had wanted to work with King for Cavalier Youth but they "didn’t think he’d even return our phone call."[7] King asked the group if they had recorded live-in-the-studio before, to which they replied they hadn't. After attempting it, King was instantly impressed with how well the group worked as a cohesive unit: "I've not seen a band play like that in a long, long fucking time. I can tell you guys know each inside out."[15]

They recorded the songs one-by-one instead of layering instruments, which Flint said aided in their creativity.[16] After finishing eight songs, they went home to write more material, before returning to Black Bird in June.[14][16] They completed four more tracks, and then recorded overdubs.[16] Working in Nashville, the band were "so focused and determined at the same [time]", according to Franceschi.[17] He added that the process was different from when they recorded Sinners Never Sleep (2011) and Cavalier Youth "in California, where we were socializing and partying ... We put a lot of time, a lot of dedication into [Night People]".[5] Flint used a variety of drum kits as the studio had a room full of equipment.[16] Andrew Scheps mixed the recordings, while Eric Boulanger mastered them.[13]

All of the songs on the album, apart from "Plus One", "Take on the World" and "Can't Hold Back", were written by the band. "Plus One" and "Can't Hold Back" were written by the band and Longpigs frontman Crispin Hunt, while "Take on the World" was written by the band and Iain Archer. Franceschi wrote all of the songs' lyrics,[13] and attempted to give them "its own character, its own sort of perspective."[12] Discussing the album's title, Franceschi explained: "Most bands have a kinda 4pm to 4am existence, ... so it seemed like an appropriate title for a rock record."[18] The album's sound has been described as pop rock,[19][20] alternative rock,[21] hard rock,[22] and rock and roll.[23] Rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Muse, the Strokes and the Killers have been cited as influencing Night People.[8]

The blues rock title-track "Night People" was one of the first songs the group wrote for the record.[18][20] Flint worked on the song by using Pro-Tools; he attempted to make a rock song with influence from hip hop. With the idea of playing it in a live setting, he wanted to find a way where his drums would build upon the patterns he came up with.[16] "Plus One" was written while Franceschi was playing an acoustic guitar during the group's first recording session at Black Bird Studios. The group worked on it as a full-band song at Flint's home studio. Franceschi described the song's lyrics as being about the "pursuit of someone you've wanted for a long time."[18] The song is a grunge track that opens with a feedback introduction, and was compared to Nirvana.[19][20] "Heavy Soul" was put together during a rehearsal which Franceschi could not attend due to being ill. Flint sent a demo of the song to Franceschi, who exclaimed, "Fucking hell, lads, this is good!"[18] Its chorus section recalled the Foo Fighters; Franceschi said the song's lyrics talk about the "heartbreak when you’re no longer in love with the idea of being a musician and what that might mean."[22][24] "Take on the World" is a Snow Patrol and Colplay-esque ballad that the band knew would be a "big anthem."[18][20][22]

"Brand New" came about from Helyer when he was playing a guitar part during band practice. He said he wrote the pre-chorus and chorus sections after listening to Bruce Springsteen and the Who.[25] The song's lyrics were partially written on behalf of people in Franceschi's life and talks about "not letting the past dictate your future."[18] The track takes influence from shoegaze and 1980s synth-pop.[20][26] "Swear" was the first song written for the album, shortly after the group's performance at the Isle of Wight Festival.[27] With it, the group wanted a song that was reminiscent of "Loverboy" in the bass and drums, as well as being "more in line with what we are listening to now", according to Helyer.[28] The song initially started out as a verse and evolved into a fully finished song in an hour; it was reminiscent of the work of Royal Blood.[29][28] According to Franceschi, the group wanted the bassline to "almost be offensive, and make people feel like they're being attacked."[18] The song's lyrics are partially "where you’re pursuing someone not necessarily for a confrontation, but for an answer, or an apology, perhaps", according to Franceschi.[18] Franceschi wanted the lyrics to complement the "intensity of the music."[18]

Franceschi considered the middle eight of "Make Your Move" to be the "heaviest piece of music" on the album, "almost flirt[ing] with a Limp Bizkit kind of vibe."[18] While working in Flint's studio, Franceschi tracked a demo of "Can't Hold Back" consisting solely of a guitar riff and a middle eight. The group later altered the structure of the song, according to Franceschi "a hundred times" and almost abandoned it.[18] The lyrics to it were influenced by the Arctic Monkeys' "Fake Tales of San Francisco". Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has "always been really good in setting scenes with his lyrics, and I was kinda trying to do something similar here", according to Franceschi.[18] With "Spell It Out", Franceschi attempted to write a song that could "almost fit as a sync to a movie trailer or some Game Of Thrones battle scene."[18] While performing at an Australian festival, Franceschi spotted Sticky Fingers, who have "one song that had a slow tempo but was really euphoric", which inspired Franceschi to write "Give".[18] Franceschi would frequently play the guitar riff to it during rehearsals. Within an hour, the group had the finished song.[30] Heyler said that when the group heard Franceschi's melody for the chorus, "we all knew that it was a special song straight away."[31]

On 10 August 2016, the band hosted a livestream on their Twitter account.[32] The livestream lasted an hour, revealing the hashtag "#NIGHTPEOPLE" and a logo.[33] This led to speculation of a new album, which was later revealed to be titled Night People.[34] The following day, the band posted an image with the phrase "Raise a glass to tomorrow's blues" over it.[35] On 22 August, Night People was announced for release, and the album's artwork and track listing was revealed.[36] A day later, "Night People" was released as a single.[37] On 8 September, a music video was released for the title-track,[38] directed by Ryan Vernava and Liam Achaibu.[39] "Plus One" was released as a single on 3 October.[40] In October, the band went a tour of the UK with support from VANT.[41] The following month, the band went on a tour of Europe with support from Lower Than Atlantis.[42] "Give" was released as a single on 4 November.[43] A Vaults remix of "Night People" was released as a single on 18 November.[44]

"Swear" was released as a single on 23 November.[45] Heyler said the group did not want to release it as a single as it sounded too much "like a You Me at Six-sounding song" since "Night People" displayed a different sound for them.[46] A day later, a music video was released for the song, film during the band's performance at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.[47] "Heavy Soul" was released as a single on 21 December.[48] Night People was initially planned for release on 13 January;[49] it was released on 6 January through Infectious Music.[50] Franceschi said the group had discussed releasing the album before Christmas, however, "sometimes if you put your record out towards the end of the year, it feels like last year’s music".[7] He added that they went with a January 2017 release "because we wanted it to be the rock record of 2017".[7] The Japanese edition of the album included live versions of "Night People", "Plus One" and "Swear", recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire, as bonus tracks.[51]

On 7 February, a music video was released for "Give", also filmed at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Franceschi said that the video wasn't originally meant to have live performance footage. Instead, it would have been "footage [of the band] and the content for that song".[5] The group's label however thought the performance would work as a video.[5] "Take on the World" was released as a single on 24 March.[52] The band went on a tour of the UK in April with support from Tonight Alive and Black Foxxes.[53] Following this, Spotify Live was released, featuring versions of "Swear", "Take on the World", "Give", and "Night People".[54] An AlunaGeorge remix of "Take on the World" was released as a single on 28 April.[55] In early May, released a video for "Take on the World", filmed during a performance at Alexandra Palace in London.[56] Later in the month, the band went on a tour of the US[57] and performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival.[58] In late August, the band performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals,[59] followed by headlining Sundown festival in early September.[60] On 8 September, an acoustic EP, titled Acoustic in Amsterdam, was released an included versions of "Take on the World", "Brand New", "Night People" and "Give".[61] Following this, the group performed a few shows in Australia.[62]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100[63]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	4/10[64]
DIY	[19]
The Guardian	[65]
The Independent	[26]
Kerrang!	4/5[66]
London Evening Standard	[22]
The Observer	[29]
Rock Sound	8/10[23]
Rolling Stone Australia	[67]
Ultimate Guitar	7/10[20]

Night People was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 67, based on 9 reviews.[63]

DIY reviewer Sarah Jamieson called it "[c]onfident and self-assured," based around the "feeling than the ... riffs and sugary highs" of their past work, with the live energy providing a "a depth they've never quite managed to nail before."[19] Rock Sound writer Rob Sayce noted that the band "opted for a grittier, more stripped back approach" than the bigger sound of Cavalier Youth. He added that it was "[c]rammed with skyscraping melodies and moments of spine-tingling poignancy" that could give them "best possible stead for packing out stadiums and headlining festivals in the near future."[23] Ultimate Guitar staff member Sam Mendez wrote that "as opposed to their previous album's pop rock initiative stuck on crafting rousing arena rock ballads," Night People performed better "than its predecessor, pulling inspiration from more sources in order to make an album that showcases a more interesting array of styles and moods."[20] The Guardian's Kate Hutchinson said that against the band's peers "peddling the same generic chart angst ... YMAS attempt to suggest they might have gonads behind the guitars."[65]

Andre Paine of the London Evening Standard wrote that the "vaguely over-familiar hard rock might be fine in concert," however, "on record diminishing returns soon set in.".[22] Rolling Stone Australia writer Rod Yates said that the band had been unable to have chart success out of the UK, and Night People "will likely not change that."[67] The Independent music correspondent Roisin O'Connor said the songs were "loaded with anguished and often clichéd lyrics about ruined relationships, but sometimes that’s what you need to hear." She called Night People a "painfully disjointed album that shows a band at an impasse, unsure about which direction they want to go in."[26] The Observer reviewer Emily Mackay said the album would "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."[29]

Night People charted at number 3 in the UK,[68] after selling 14,318 copies in its first week.[69] It charted at number 3 in Scotland,[70] number 20 in Australia[71] and number 84 in Belgium.[72] It also charted at number 1 on the New Zealand Heatseekers Albums chart.[73] Most of the tracks on the album charted on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart: "Night People" at number 4,[74] "Plus One" at number 24,[75] "Heavy Soul" at number 17, "Take on the World" at number 1, "Brand New" at number 21, "Swear" at number 19, "Spell It Out" at number 32[74] and "Give" at number 5.[76]

All songs written by You Me at Six, except where noted. All lyrics by Josh Franceschi.[13]

Bonus tracks

Personnel per booklet.[13]

Citations

Sources