You Me At Six - 'Night People'

English alternative rockers You Me At Six have returned this year to follow up to 2014's upbeat Cavalier Youth. For 2017, they've promised Night People (tour details + more here) and have shared the first song from the record. The title track 'Night People' has a lot of swagger and promises some jamming.

The song is the opening track on the record, and, as any good opening track should, it brings the hype. It has this cool rock n' roll vibe to it. It kicks off with an effected vocal sample of the chorus, which confidently chants: "We are night people, roaming these streets / Night people, we get what we need." There's a big call-to-arms sound in the track too, the riff playing very upbeat and and the gang vocals in the background screaming their "woah"s. The drum beat carries pretty well too, though mildly understated among the rest of the song's elements.

While the song itself is good, it does raise the question of You Me At Six's future. Their sound has become the standard alternative rock/pop punk sound since Cavalier Youth, and 'Night People' doesn't sound much different. Lots of other bands in their same kind of "scene" area have shown evolution; the most prominent example is Bring Me The Horizon. Sempiternal brought about a compositional, unique, and mature change in the band. They veered away from the "scream and sound edgy" tone to something that had a lot of substance and meaning. You Me At Six is not at all the same band, but the key to any band is evolving. Their falling into this standard sound that will soon become bland. Their previous efforts show a lot of promise and talent; they have what they need, but they can't yet materialize their talent into something that has substance.

Night People won't be losing any of their big rock vibes, and may even be treading into some of their older sounds, too. But this band needs a change to vamp things back up. They can only get by with this upbeat rock sound for so long - they're going to start losing their purpose. They have the talent and the means of evolving, it's just getting to that point that they haven't quite gotten to yet. 'Night People' is a fun song, but fun music will only take you so far. Let's hope the album is a bit more unique.

Rating: 70 / 100