''Night People'' is the fifth studio album by English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
You Me at Six
You Me at Six are an English rock band from Weybridge, Surrey. The band consists of lead singer Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Daniel Flint. Formed in 2004, the name for the group origin ...
. Following an 18-month touring cycle for ''
Cavalier Youth'', the group took a break. In the autumn, the group worked on new music at drummer Dan Flint's house, and subsequently tracked demos with
Ross Orton
Ross Orton is a musician/songwriter/ producer based in Sheffield, England. Orton is known for his work as drummer in Add N to (X) and as part of electro trio Fat Truckers, and since that band's split in 2004 has formed the Cavemen songwriting/prod ...
. Reconvening in January 2016, the group were in discussions with several different producers before being approached by
Jacquire King
Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, ...
. The group then went to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
to record their new album with King in February. Majority of the album was recorded live-in-the-studio, an approach the group hadn't attempted before. The group returned home to write more material before returning to the studio. Recording subsequently wrapped up in June. ''Night People'' was announced in August, followed by the single release of the title-track.
Preceded by the single release of "Plus One", the group went on a UK tour in October. In November, the group released two singles ("Give" and "Swear") before embarking on a European tour. Before the end of the year, "Heavy Soul" was released as a single. ''Night People'' released on 6 January 2017 through
Infectious Music
Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways.
History
Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...
. It charted at number 3 in the UK, as well as charting in Australia, Belgium and New Zealand. Eight of its ten tracks charted on the
UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart
The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
. Following its release, "Take on the World" was released as a single in March, and the group went on a tour of the UK. Over the summer, the group went on a tour of the US, performed at
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
, the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
and Sundown festival.
Background
You Me at Six released their fourth studio album ''
Cavalier Youth'' in January 2014. The group supported it with an 18-month long touring cycle,
[ which included the band's first arena tour, and ended with an appearance at the ]Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
in June 2015. Following this, the band's social media accounts went inactive.[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 14] After the preceding ten years of constant touring, the band members went on a break,[ which vocalist Josh Franceschi considered to be "necessary to appreciate the things we had, to get off the ride for a little bit."][ During the break, the band members refrained from listening to the radio or rock albums, instead consuming hip hop, UK grime, ]soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
and funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
music.[
In an interview with '']Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' in May 2015, guitarist Max Helyer revealed that the band would be meeting up in the summer to work on new ideas. Franceschi said that due to the touring schedule for ''Cavalier Youth'' they did not write any new material between 2013 and 2015.[ Around this time, drummer Dan Flint said the band were intending to release their next album with Korda Marshall and his label Infectious Music.] In the autumn, the band built a personal studio at Flint's house, which would allow them to work whenever they wished.[ The band visited Flint's studio as often as three or four times a week to write new material;][ the group ended up writing 50–60 new songs.] Following demoing sessions in Sheffield with Ross Orton
Ross Orton is a musician/songwriter/ producer based in Sheffield, England. Orton is known for his work as drummer in Add N to (X) and as part of electro trio Fat Truckers, and since that band's split in 2004 has formed the Cavemen songwriting/prod ...
, the vision for the group's next album began to form,[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 19] as Franceschi explains: "Out of that process we knew that we were necessarily going down the right route—musically, mentally, everything."[
]
Production
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.[ After having discussions with several different producers, the group were approached by ]Jacquire King
Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, ...
in early February.[ King offered the band the chance to record in ]Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
,[ and "literally three days later", according to Franceschi, the band boarded a plane to Nashville.][Brannigan 2016, p. 34] The group was so eager to record that they flew before their management had been able to figure out accommodation in the city.[ 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.][ Recording for ''Night People'' took place at Black Bird Studios with King producing the sessions.][
The group entered the studio with six to eight songs,][McLaughlin 2016, p. 73] and planned to record for three weeks.[ King wanted to record a rock album with the band, something he had not done since ]Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...
's ''Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
'' 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.’"[ The group had wanted to work with King for ''Cavalier Youth'' but they "didn’t think he’d even return our phone call."] 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."[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 20]
They recorded the songs one-by-one instead of layering instruments, which Flint said aided in their creativity.[ After finishing eight songs, they went home to write more material, before returning to Black Bird in June.][ They completed four more tracks, and then recorded overdubs.] Working in Nashville, the band were "so focused and determined at the same ime, according to Franceschi. He added that the process was different from when they recorded ''Sinners Never Sleep
''Sinners Never Sleep'' is the third studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 3 October 2011 through Virgin Records. While touring in support of their second studio album ''Hold Me Down'' (2010), the band wrote slow-t ...
'' (2011) and ''Cavalier Youth'' "in California, where we were socializing and partying ... We put a lot of time, a lot of dedication into ight People.[ Flint used a variety of drum kits as the studio had a room full of equipment.][ Franceschi later said the band felt complacent when trying to be creative and self-motivating, in addition to being around people that were not stimulating the band creatively. On one occasion, Franceschi found himself emailing his lyrics to four-to-five for approval. ]Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium A ...
mixed the recordings, while Eric Boulanger mastered them.[
]
Composition
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 former Longpigs
Longpigs were an English indie rock band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s, comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass guitar) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (drums) who w ...
frontman Crispin Hunt, while "Take on the World" was written by the band and Iain Archer
Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
. Franceschi wrote all of the songs' lyrics,[ and attempted to give them "its own character, its own sort of perspective."] 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."[ The album's sound has been described as ]pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
, alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
, hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
,[ and ]rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
.[ Rock groups such as ]Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
, the Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...
and the Killers
The Killers are an American rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingd ...
have been cited as influencing ''Night People''.[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 18] Six months after the album's releases, Franceschi counted that they were "focused so much on trying to make a body of work and trying to get them to work together that we might have overlooked if they were standout songs on their own".
The blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
title-track "Night People" was one of the first songs the group wrote for the record.[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 17][ Flint worked on the song by using ]Pro-Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-product ...
; 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
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
he came up with.[ "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."][ The song is a ]grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
track that opens with a feedback introduction, and was compared to Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
.[ "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!"][ Its chorus section recalled the ]Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
; 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."[McMahon ed. 2016, p. 16] "Take on the World" is a Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
and Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
-esque ballad that the band knew would be a "big anthem."[
"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
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
and the Who. 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."[ The track takes influence from ]shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
and 1980s synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
.[ "Swear" was the first song written for the album, shortly after the group's performance at the Isle of Wight Festival. With it, the group wanted a song that was reminiscent of "]Loverboy
Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...
" in the bass and drums, as well as being "more in line with what we are listening to now", according to Helyer.[Helyer 2017, p. 16] 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
A royal descent is a genealogy, genealogical Kinship and descent, line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic ...
.[ According to Franceschi, the group wanted the bassline to "almost be offensive, and make people feel like they're being attacked."][ 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.][ Franceschi wanted the lyrics to complement the "intensity of the music."][
Franceschi considered the ]middle eight
The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century.
A ...
of "Make Your Move" to be the "heaviest piece of music" on the album, "almost flirt ngwith a Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
kind of vibe."[ 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.][ The lyrics to it were influenced by the ]Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...
' " Fake Tales of San Francisco". Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner
Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...
has "always been really good in setting scenes with his lyrics, and I was kinda trying to do something similar here", according to Franceschi.[ 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."][ While performing at an Australian festival, Franceschi spotted ]Sticky Fingers
''Sticky Fingers'' is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca ...
, who have "one song that had a slow tempo but was really euphoric", which inspired Franceschi to write "Give".[ Franceschi would frequently play the guitar riff to it during rehearsals. Within an hour, the group had the finished song. Heyler said that when the group heard Franceschi's melody for the chorus, "we all knew that it was a special song straight away."
]
Release
On 10 August 2016, the band hosted a livestream on their Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account. The livestream lasted an hour, revealing the hashtag "#NIGHTPEOPLE" and a logo. This led to speculation of a new album, which was later revealed to be titled ''Night People''. The following day, the band posted an image with the phrase "Raise a glass to tomorrow's blues" over it. On 22 August, ''Night People'' was announced for release, and the album's artwork and track listing was revealed. A day later, "Night People" was released as a single. On 8 September, a music video was released for the title-track, directed by Ryan Vernava and Liam Achaibu. "Plus One" was released as a single on 3 October. In October, the band went a tour of the UK with support from VANT
Vant (stylised as VANT) are a British indie rock band formed in 2014 by frontman and songwriter Mattie Vant. In 2015, Vant signed to Parlophone Records. The band announced an "indefinite hiatus" in 2017 to take effect at the end of their Last Day ...
. The following month, the band went on a tour of Europe with support from Lower Than Atlantis. "Give" was released as a single on 4 November. A Vaults remix of "Night People" was released as a single on 18 November.
"Swear" was released as a single on 23 November. 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. A day later, a music video was released for the song, film during the band's performance at the Shepherd's Bush Empire
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
in London. "Heavy Soul" was released as a single on 21 December. ''Night People'' was initially planned for release on 13 January 2017; bassist Matt Barnes said the band picked this as they wanted toshow that they were "all anti-superstitious". It was instead released on 6 January 2017 through Infectious Music
Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways.
History
Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...
. 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".[ He added that they went with a January 2017 release "because we wanted it to be the rock record of 2017".][ They released it on cassette tape as guitarist Chris Miller had an old BMW car with a ]cassette player
A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of a ...
built in and toyed with the idea of listening to the album on that format.[ 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.
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 f the bandand the content for that song".] The group's label however thought the performance would work as a video.[ "Take on the World" was released as a single on 24 March. The band went on a tour of the UK in April with support from ]Tonight Alive
Tonight Alive are an Australian Rock music, rock band from Sydney. As of 2018, the band consists of lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, guitarist Jake Hardy, bassist Cameron Adler, and drummer Matty Best.
Formed in 2008 by Hardy, Adler and Whakaio ...
and Black Foxxes. Following this, ''Spotify Live'' was released, featuring versions of "Swear", "Take on the World", "Give", and "Night People". An AlunaGeorge
AlunaGeorge are an English electronic music duo from London, consisting of singer-songwriter Aluna Francis and producer George Reid.
Career
2009: Formation
The duo first met in June 2009, when Reid remixed Francis' band My Toys Like Me's trac ...
remix of "Take on the World" was released as a single on 28 April. In early May, released a video for "Take on the World", filmed during a performance at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
in London. Later in the month, the band went on a tour of the US and performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
festival. In late August, the band performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
, followed by headlining Sundown festival in early September. 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". Following this, the group performed a few shows in Australia.
Reception
''Night People'' was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
.At Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 67, based on nine reviews.[ ]AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...
gave it an average score of 5.4, based on ten reviews.[
''DIY'' reviewer Sarah Jamieson called it " nfident 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."][ ''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 " ammed 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."][ 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."][ ''The Guardian'' 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."][
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.".][ ''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."][ ''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."][ ''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."][
''Night People'' charted at number 3 in the UK,][ after selling 14,318 copies in its first week. It charted at number 3 in Scotland,][ number 20 in Australia][ and number 84 in Belgium.][ It also charted at number 1 on the New Zealand Heatseekers Albums chart.][ Most of the tracks on the album charted on the ]UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart
The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
: "Night People" at number 4, "Plus One" at number 24, "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[ and "Give" at number 5. "Take on the World" was certified silver by the ]British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
(BPI) in October 2022. As early as August 2017, Franceschi said the band were unhappy with how they made it. Helyer, meanwhile, said he did not "look at that record with bad memories; we had a great experience". In 2021, Franceschi ranked ''Night People'' as his fifth favourite You Me at Six album, admiring Blackbird as he "could never have of imagined us making a record in Nashville but it was incredible".
Track listing
All songs written by You Me at Six, except where noted. All lyrics by Josh Franceschi.[
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Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
You Me at Six
* Josh Franceschi – lead vocals
* Chris Miller – lead guitar
* Max Helyer – rhythm guitar
* Matt Barnes – bass guitar
* Dan Flint – drums
Production
* Jacquire King
Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, ...
– production, programming
* Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium A ...
– mixing
* Eric Boulanger – mastering
* Studio Juice – art direction
* Alex Page – photography
* David East – photography
* Max Fairlough – photography
* Matt Salacuse – photography
Charts
References
Citations
Sources
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2017 albums
Albums produced by Jacquire King
You Me at Six albums
Infectious Music albums
Hard rock albums by English artists
British rock-and-roll albums