Having made a sizeable dent in the European market with their tuneful brand of pop-punk, You Me At Six have invoked one of rock’s most dreaded cliches – the search for “a more mature sound” – on Night People. Unfortunately, it has yielded is a disjointed album. In fact, at times they seem to brazenly purloin from other bands’ songbooks in a bid to crack the States.
Recorded in Nashville with Kings Of Leon producer Jacquire King, there are two songs on the ten track effort that will definitely divide fans: ‘Heavy Soul’ and ‘Take On The World’. The former is a KOL-style, Americana-tinged rocker that’s a little too close to ‘The Bucket’ for comfort, while the latter, co-authored by former Snow Patrol man Iain Archer, is a sentimental ballad. Reminiscent of ‘Run’, it feels like it was written specifically to attract daytime radio play. Though there are flashes of excitement (the brooding ‘Spell It Out’ has some satisfyingly crunchy riffs and ‘Swear’ has a vintage YMAS chorus), Night People is a long way from a classic.