You Me At Six hope their new album ‘VI’ will be "career-defining" as they admit to feeling "underwhelmed" by 2017’s ‘Night People’.
Frontman Josh Franceschi says the band felt they needed to swiftly make another record because they didn’t connect to their fifth album, despite it reaching number three in the Official UK Chart.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz before their performance on the Zippo Encore stage at Download Festival on Friday (08.06.18), Josh spilled: "We felt underwhelmed by our own record so we wanted to make another one quickly, and a good one.
"Being a number three album doesn’t mean it’s any good.
"[Sir] Cliff Richard had how many numbers ones at Christmas, they were all crap so that doesn’t mean it’s any good."
The 27-year-old frontman compares the band’s transition from ‘Night People’ to ‘VI’ like the Arctic Monkeys’ journey from 2009 LP ‘Humbug’ to 2013’s ‘AM’, arguably their best record to date.
He explained: "I still stand behind ‘Night People’ because it’s something we’ve done.
"You know how Arctic Monkeys had ‘Humbug’ as a stepping stone before ‘AM’, that’s how I feel it was like for us.
"It’s a record we had to make and the only record we could have made at that moment in time.
Ultimately, it’s what shaped us to make this one, it served a purpose."
After working with Biffy Clyro producer Dan Austin – who practically became a sixth member of the band – You Me At Six are hoping their sixth record, aptly titled ‘VI’, will be "the one" that leaves a lasting impression.
Josh said: "We’ve never had that record. We’ve always made stepping stones, we’ve had milestones and we’ve grown.
"We haven’t had that record where we are like that is the You Me At Six record.
"I definitely feel like we believe internally this is the one.
"It’s kind of ironic that it is the sixth record and it’s called ‘VI’.
"Sometimes as cringe as it sounds, sometimes things are meant to happen a certain way.
"I feel like us being called You Me At Six, hopefully our career-defining moment is on our sixth record."
‘VI’ is released on October 8 and features the tracks ‘3AM’ and ‘Fast Forward’.
You Me At Six: VI is hopefully our career-defining album
