You Me At Six

"People may look at us and say 'guy music’, girl’s haircut. But we don’t care, it’s going to happen."
Josh Franceschi, vocalist

The debut album has only just been released but You Me At Six are already feeling the pressure of that 'difficult second album'. Music News goes beyond the fringes of the incredibly charming five-piece....


You Me At Six can’t quite believe how far they’ve come. Last year the pop-punk rock band were admittedly just sitting around, but the past 12 months have been "mental" with tours selling out thanks to word of mouth - "strange" - and their faces gracing the cover of the rock music press - "ridiculous". It’s all been building up to debut album 'Take Off Your Colours', a record they laboured over with an unexpected result.


"I thought we were going to write borderline pop-punk 'Save it for the Bedroom'-esque songs," says frontman Josh Franceschi, "and I’m really glad we didn’t because I think that would’ve been the easy thing to do. We could have banged out those songs very easily and that’s what happened in December." At the back end of 2007 the lads went away, wrote seven "predictable" songs, hated them, ripped them up and started again. "Although it was frustrating I’m really glad we were patient as I think we’ve got a record now that we’re really proud of regardless of whether people like it or not," he adds.


"I’m far more capable than our single 'Gossip' suggests."
Josh Franceschi, vocalist


The album, a mix of distinctly different old and new songs has been a real learning curve for the young band, who say they have matured since writing infamous three-chord single 'Gossip'. "People who don’t like it, they don’t just dislike it, they hate it," admits Franceschi. "Every time I hear the [opening drum beat], shudders go through me as I relate that song to the old You Me At Six. I wrote that when I was 15/16. Now I’m 18 years of age, my whole perspective on stuff has changed. I’m far more capable than that song suggests."


It’s tracks like 'Jealous Minds Think Alike' that hint at what’s coming next from the band, says Franceschi. And the second album’s already underway as the band – completed by guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Dan Flint – are keen to "keep their creative juices flowing". They also don’t want to lose momentum, acutely aware of their shelf life. "One of our best friends is in a band called theaudition and one thing that’s always been said to me from them is: 'don’t let this pass you by'," says Franceschi. "This is by no means suggesting that we’re worried about our fanbase but sometimes we can be their favourite band one month and the next month it could be someone completely different.


"So we’re always trying to give something and that’s why we don’t want to leave too big a gap between album number one and album number two. That’s the big thing: can they make album number two? If not, then you’re done basically." Only time will tell as to whether they can surpass their first effort, a record they hope will be considered a diverse offering and listened to over and over, but they're trying not to think too far ahead. Drummer Dan Flint concludes: "For us, if we’re a band in five years time, that would be amazing. If we’re a band in ten years time, that would be pretty insane."


'Take Off Your Colours' is out now on Slam Dunk Read the MN review...
You Me At Six’s headline tour kicks off in Middlesbrough on 15 October. The band will support Fall Out Boy this month, too.

Want more?...