reviews thread

[leewykes]

post any reviews of the album you find

this one is from www.thrashhits.com/2008/10/album-you-me-at-six-take-off-your-colours/

its quite negative and only gave 1/6 so dont read if youre gonna get offended.

Album: You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours
October 6th, 2008

You Me At Six
Take Off Your Colours
Slam Dunk Records
06 October 2008

by Mischa Pearlman

Weybridge quintet You Me At Six (or, depending how MySpace you’re feeling, youmeatsix) are most definitely a product of their times.

When emo has become the new chav, and when today’s undemanding pop audiences eschew any depth or feeling in the music they listen to for a self-indulgent fetishism of laboured hairstyles and bands as banal and limpid as Bryan Adams’ recent back catalogue, You Me At Six are the perfect poster boys for their so-called scene.

On its own, as bubblegum pop music, Take Off Your Colours is a debut album full of anodyne, insipid songs and anaemic sentiment that is barely tolerable except for the fact that at least they play their own instruments and write their own songs.

That is, perhaps, until you hear token ballad ‘Always Attract’, a bland, dirgey acoustic number that utilises almost every known cliché in its lyrics. “If it hurts this much,” sings Josh Franceschi, “then it must be love / It’s a lottery / I can’t wait to draw your name.” If you didn’t already know that the band are in their teens, such dreadful high-school missives couldn’t fail to tell you.

What’s worse, though, is that they purport to make music that actually means something, and that’s what makes this album so insidious. It’s not just throwaway pop that has ideas way above its station - it’s evolved (or rather, mutated) from a style of music that, originally, was made purely as a means of cathartic expression.

Say what you like about The Get Up Kids, Saves The Day, The Promise Ring or any of those second wave of late nineties ‘emo’ bands (and let’s leave the definition and history of ‘emo’ for another day, please), they at least made music that was real, that you could believe in.


Even Taking Back Sunday, though they have their critics, wrote intelligent and articulate heartfelt songs. At its worst, being ‘emo’ was about having bad hair and bad skin and not having a date to the high school prom, but the songs still came first.

Now, ‘emo’ has been inverted to mean the exact opposite, all (hair)style over substance. Hell, bassist Matt Barnes already has his own clothing label – a firm reassertion that this band are little more than the embodiment of the culture of commercialisation. Blame Panic(!) At The Disco if you want, but at least their debut album had some good songs. This does not.

But let’s focus on the music awhile, lest this is accused of being an anti-emo rant rather than an album review – though if you’re following these words even remotely you should realise this isn’t a general attack, it’s a very specific invective.

There are thirteen songs, including the aforementioned ballad, all fused together by tetchy guitar lines and Franceschi’s nasal Americanised vocals. He’s from Dorset. People in Dorset don’t sound American. If you belong to a genre that, rightly or wrongly, is known for its open-hearted confessionalism, surely you should at least be true to your origins to maintain that all important emotional integrity. Or maybe that’s just me…


The tunes themselves closely follow the bog-standard, slightly angular, poppy, boppy late ’00s ‘emo’ sound template as close as they can. There’s no feeling in the vocals, no passion in the music, nothing to make any of these songs stand out whatsoever.

‘Save It For The Bedroom’ is an adrenalin-charged but emotionless blackhole, while ‘You’ve Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It)’ is a slowed down, self-aware, self-referential ode to an ex-girlfriend that almost has a decent lyrical turn (“You’ve made your bed so sleep with him”).

If this album had highlights, it would probably be them. To run through the rest of the songs is, frankly, depressing. There are better things to do and much better music to listen to. Suffice to say that this album is a low point in the long saga of what ‘emo’ is or isn’t.

By rights, You Me At Six shouldn’t mean anything to anybody and these songs should be dismissed for what they really are – a series of badly phrased platitudes set to irritating tunes. Unfortunately, people will buy it and believe in it and think it speaks to them. And that’s even more depressing than the quality of the songs themselves.

1/6

[leewykes]

www.new-noise.net/album-reviews/you-me-at-six/take-off-your-colours/you-me-at-six---take-off-your-colours_5084.html

You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours
by Steven Fanning
Emo still going strong

Emo has been dragging on a fair bit now. Usually by now, most subcultures have imploded, wiped out their biggest stars or simply been replaced with something fresher and newer and more reflective of the ever changing tastes of the fickle record buying/downloading public. Emo has evolved within itself and hasn’t capitulated with stadium fillers suddenly losing the cool that elevated them there in the first place.

Britain’s latest offering into the melee of emo bands is You Me At Six. Hype has surrounded the band for some time now, the next big thing tag firmly fastened and duly babbled on about by the music press at large, leading up to their debut record ‘Take Off Your Colours’. And the hype has been just about worth it. In Josh Franceschi, YMAS have a frontman with a genuinely strong and occasionally captivating voice. He can keep hold of rock sensibilities whilst lending his voice to what are often very accessible poppy songs, awash with strong choruses and all things veering on radio friendly, yet successfully without becoming too mainstream just yet. However the potential is certainly there.

Whether you like this album or not, it’s hard not to respect them for being at least true to themselves whilst serving up fodder for the masses and the emo disciples at large. There’s variety too, occasional dabbles with acoustic guitars, ballads and the closing epic show a creativity that isn’t just limited to the food and drink of emo by numbers. All in all, a good record that promises even bigger things for the future.

[leewykes]

www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2756&type=Albums&rating=1

You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours (Slam Dunk)
Emma Jackson

If you haven't heard of You Me At Six at some point this year, you must have been hiding! The lads from Surrey have exploded onto the music scene in the last year and have gone from strength to strength. The band know what they want and are determined to get it, this is shown by just how hard they have worked. Playing 21 UK dates earlier in the year and playing the Reading and Leeds festival. The band not stopping for breath are about to start their Headline tour around the U.K later this month as well as release their highly anticipated debut album on October 6th.

For those who do know the lads, the album has just what you would expect – catchy, stick-in-your-head anthems - along the same lines as others they have released. The ones you know you all love such as Save It For The Bedroom, If I Were In Your Shoes, Gossip, The Rumour and You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It) are all on the album, bit have been tweaked in certain places to make them better, some may have a different opinion. A few slower tracks such as Tigers and Sharks and Always Attract shows the fans a different side to lead singer Josh's vocals (a mature side). New track Jealous Minds Think Alike is just what you need to give yourself a boost, it's catchy, addictive and you won't stop singing along to it. Overall, the album has been carefully planned and what has been produced is an iconic first album.

If you get a chance to go along to see the lads I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. You will be left on a high, just like you are after listening to the album. We haven't seen the best of these lads; they are still in their teens after all. All I know is that they will be around for a very long time, and will probably produce some of the UK's iconic tunes of the last couple of years.


3.5/5

[leewykes]

www.inthenews.co.uk/news/entertainment/music/whos-next/you-me-at-six-take-off-your-colours-$1243706.htm

You Me At Six: Take Off Your Colours
Monday, 06 Oct 2008 13:02
Slam Dunk Records, out now.

In a nutshell...

Catchy emo tunes but nothing to write home about.

What's it all about?

Brit emo popsters make their make with full-length debut Take Off You Colours. Released on Slam Dunk Records, the album consists of 13 tracks and includes the singles If I Were In Your Shoes and Gossip.

Who's it by?

Formed in Surrey, You Me At Six seem to have done a hell of a lot more than the typical band ahead of releasing their debut record. Nominated for Best British Newcomer at last year's Kerrang! Awards, the quintet have played a number of festivals and gone on no less than seven UK tours. The band is made up of lead singer John Franceschi, drummer Dan Flint, Matt Barnes on bass and Chris Miller and Max Helyer on guitar.

As an example...

"Jealous minds think alike you're a dent in time/I'm wasting all my time, you're only gone." - Jealous Minds Think Alike

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Unlikely. Though at the rate the UK rock press are gobbling them up, they could end this year with a gong or two.

What the others say

"We haven't seen the best of these lads; they are still in their teens after all." - Gods In The TV

"With their not-remotely-British charm, ear for melody and good old-fashioned pace they achieve the holy grail of the genre. The memorable hook!" - Strange Glue

So is it any good?

With pop sensibilities, impossibly good looks and fresh faces it'd be easy on first glimpse to lump You Me At Six with pre-teen pre-packaged 'rock' acts such as McFly. Luckily their debut, Take Off Your Colours, is an album which what it lacks in inventiveness makes up for in hard work.

Although they come from Surrey you could easily mistake the band for one from Southern California, with opener The Truth Is A Terrible Thing sounding - lyrically and musically - pretty much like the average US pop-punk band. In fact average is a word which basically sums up the majority of the 13 songs on show. Mid-paced pop-punk/rock, mixed in with a few slower anthems and the archetypical epic ending track, I'm afraid you're likely to have heard this type of music done much better by groups on both sides of the Atlantic. Take Off Your Colours, while pretty upbeat and accessible, suffers from a little too much filler (especially during the first half of the album on tracks such as Call That A Comeback) and not enough killer.

However, things improve as the record develops with ballad Always Attract standing out as a highlight. Meanwhile, Tigers and Sharks is as full of bite as the animals it is named off.

Overall, there's nothing really wrong with this record as such but unless you're already a committed fan of the genre Take Off Your Colours won't do anything for you. While there are some hints of promise, the record just fails to recreate the magic - or imagination - that other British emo/post-hardcore such as Funeral For a Friend, Lostprophets and Hell is for Heroes have offered up since their respective emergences on the scene. Overall, You Me At Six's name gives the best indication of the strength of this album.

6/10

Ashley King

[leewykes]

www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=8362

You Me At Six
'Take Off Your Colours'
Slam Dunk Records

Brilliant debut from Brit heroes-in-waiting
Clearly flying the flag for the “let’s choose the most appalling name we can think of” set, You Meat Six (as I prefer to refer to them) have been the recipient of much praise in their short career to date. I’ve never heard their music previously, but this, their debut album, provides some justification for such levels of hysteria.



While their earnest style plants them firmly into the emo camp, their quality and ear for songwriting ensures that there is no easy comparison to be made. Theirs is a genuinely fresh sound, fully of irresistible hooks, effective dynamics and sufficient listenability to ensure that radioland is theirs for the taking.



Vocalist Josh Franceschi is a revelation; rarely do such assured perfomances come along and he, in particular, is clearly born to do it. It would be unfair on his bandmates at this point not to state that their performances are tight and succinct, and that they collectively provide the perfect counterbalance for their frontman’s abilities. A remarkably good band, and one which will surely go from strength to strength on the evidence of “Take Off Your Colours”.



By: EDDIE THOMAS

4.5/5

[leewykes]

hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/101732-you-me-six-take-off-your-colours.html


You me at six "Take Off Your Colours"
Slam Dunk Records




Before I played this CD I had decided that it was going to be over produced, whiney and very samey…however I was wrong.

Firstly I noticed that the singles have altered and been re recorded, in particular “Save It For The Bedroom” gone is the irritating and often mocked way in which bedroom, in the breakdown, was pronounced which makes for much easier listening; allowing the listener to appreciate the song for what it is a good catchy hook filled powerpop track.

There’s a good mix of up-tempo and ballads, something for every mood to relate to. It definitely seems that they have honed their sound.

Unfortunately it is noticeable that when singing the slower and more emotional tracks his voice is stronger, than when concentrating on sounding cool and “unique” in the up beat singles and so I would definitely like to hear their album in a couple of years time once the lyrics and voice have matured, but all in all this is a great first album from the YMA6 boys, I think this album will prove a lot of people wrong.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overal - 7
Vocals/Lyrics - 8
Musicianship - 7
Prouduction - 7
Creativity - 6
Lastability - 7
Reviewers Tilt - 7

[leewykes]

www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/you-me-at-six-take-off-your-colours

You Me At Six - Take Off Your Colours
Review by Jack Foley
IndieLondon Rating: 3 out of 5

SURREY quintet You Me At Six took a year to complete their debut album Take Off Your Colours and the time seems to have equipped them well for making a pretty big splash.

In that time, the band have issued numerous singles, toured exhaustively and firmly established themselves as an exuberant young band offering a mix of heavy/mid tempo rock tracks. They’re clearly influenced by bands such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore, and the embracing of that particular style is both a strength and weakness.

Early on, tracks like The Truth Is A Terrible Thing and fan favourite Gossip play to an established, even over-worked formula – namely, loud, brash guitar hooks and shouty, earnest vocals. There’s not that much to distinguish them from the bands they’re seeking to emulate, even though they can clearly carry a tune.

Even most recent single Jealous Minds Think Alike panders to a particular demographic and seems too afraid to mix things up at all. It’s as though the song serves as an apt metaphor for You Me At Six’s intentions – they crave Fall Out Boy’s success, and are so jealous of it that writing songs that are exactly similar is the key to success.

But if you’re patient, then there are indications that there’s more to You Me At Six – aka Josh Franceschi (vocals), Max Helyer (guitar), Matt Barnes (bass), Chris Miller (guitar) and Dan Flint (drums) – than initial appearances (or sound) suggests.

You’ve Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It) benefits from slowing down the pace and really allowing the weighty vocals to be heard. It’s reminiscent of bands like Bush at their most atmospheric and displays a maturity not always apparent in some of their earlier songwriting. A break-up anthem, it’s sure to be embraced by their fans… as well as reaching newcomers as well.

Tigers And Sharks, meanwhile, shows they’re capable of turning out a good ballad – both musically and vocally, as Franceschi’s intensity befits the song well. Likewise, the acoustic offering Always Attract is a real cigarette lighter moment – beautifully written, impeccably delivered, it really does underline that You Me At Six are capable of diversity.

Of course, the album is never more comfortable and content than when thrashing about, and the final tracks return to the tried and tested formula – with tracks like Nasty Habits and If You Run benefitting from going for more rockier, gritty elements than the pop sound that guarantees a place on the radio.

But while Take Off Your Colours does enough to elevate You Me At Six above the average for this kind of sound, it’s nothing to get too excited about at this stage.

Download picks: Always Attract, You’ve Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It), Tigers And Sharks, Nasty Habits

[leewykes]

strangeglue.com/you-me-at-six-take-off-your-colours

You Me At Six: Take Off Your Colours
03rd October 2008 | by Aidan Williamson
Ask the average man on the street to name a pop-punk band and you'll get no shortage of answers. It could be Green Day, Sum 41, Fall-Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, MxPx, Alkaline Trio, Blink-182, The Donnas, Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World, Descendants or Bowling For Soup.

Hone in your question to include only British bands and watch the knowledgeable expression drain away. After much head scratching and pondering the best you're likely to get in response is Busted or McFly. Neither of which are renowned for their artistic credibility. Clearly, whereas America is drowning in the genre, Britain seems indifferent.

While not quite in the league of "Milo Goes to College", "From Here to Infirmary", "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", "Clarity", "Dear Hot Chick" or "Take This To Your Grave" and somehow more American than all the mentioned combined (despite the band being from Surrey) You Me At Six have set their sights on entering the big leagues without the gunge-tank promotional tour which Busted and McFly subjected themselves to.

While this is perhaps somewhat unorthodox and likely lands us in the realm of 'Promotional Feature' (no money has changed hands we assure you) we invite you to sample a single track from "Take Off Your Colours" as we take this review interactive.

It's a somewhat pointless task to argue that these boys don't know their way around decent mainstream punk music. With their not-remotely-British charm, ear for melody and good old-fashioned pace they achieve the holy grail of the genre. The memorable hook! "Save It For the Bedroom" is not the only instance. "If You Run", "Nasty Habits", "Call That A Comeback" and "The Rumour" all claim a similar feat to varying degrees.

To zoom in on "If You Run" for a brief time. It's one of those rare songs which gives a distinct finger-shaped insult to radio stations in that nothing particularly interesting happens for the first two minutes. Try to imagine the kind of radio stations who edited Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" to excise the introduction playing this track, and it's a case of 'probability zero'. At that midway mark though, a beefier backing underlines the song but still it continues in its pedestrian nature. Once the bridge kicks in though (that's the part that goes "i got one good reason to keep you on your feet and i got another in the back, home in a seat") the effect is undeniable. Write this line on you pre-ordered tombstone right now, its lifespan is longer than yours. Deal with it. Most labels would have forced a band to retool such a bridge into chorus-land and repeat it ad-nauseum. You know, like "Sugar, We're Going Down". Through its briefness though, the effect is discernibly weightier.

You Me At Six also display a semi-unique ability to master the slower songs as well. Packed towards the end of the album "Always Attract" and "The Rumour" fill this department. "Always Attract" segues from arpeggio'd beginnings with the aid of guest female vocalist #21 (we forget their names) right the way up to buzzsaw guitar lines and a pounding finale. "The Rumour" meanwhile almost touches similar turf to Fightstar in its pacey loud/quiet dynamic which culminates in the most stirring of finales which can be guaranteed audience participation. What would you expect with a coda which repeats "Hold your hands up in the air, hold your hands up as if you care." sung by the entire band?

For an album of this type though fifty-one minutes is far too lengthy. If every single song were indispensable this would not be an issue. But songs such as "Gossip", "You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It)" and "Tigers and Sharks" could easily be jettisoned in favour of granting increased mobility to the album as a whole. While the ratio bends towards 'killer' as opposed to 'filler' a small amount of chopping could have done the world of good.

Maybe the Americanised approach was a good idea after all. Since in this country all you have to look forward to is endless swipes from the indie-elitists and tours packed with U16 Girls. Respect is unlikely to be the watchword for You Me At Six, but at least it's better than the gunge tank.

Rating: 7 / 10

[Nikkeh]

Oo thanks for spending the time finding these (Y)

[leewykes]

seems like theres a bit of a mixed reaction from the press

[emily]

theres a mixed reaction from the press to everything these days tho isnt thereee

[Danielle]

yeh thats true

i would read these but
1. its alot and i dont feel like reading
2. i read half of that first one and decided not to read anymore

ok so theyre the only reasons haha

but i did read like the overal ratings and that

[xX.rachel.Xx]

theres a very mixed reaction

and it seems it's either good or bad, not many are in the middle
lol