Truth Decay, the new album from English rock band, You Me At Six, feels like a celebration of everything they’ve accomplished in their fifteen year, seven album-spanning career. The genre-bending album finds the band effortlessly flexing their songwriting muscles in songs that range from high energy pop-punk to grungy punk, post-hardcore and even 80’s arena rock and emo rap. Throughout the thirteen dynamic songs on the album, the band proves (to absolutely no one’s surprise) that they’re capable of just about anything.
“DEEP CUTS”, the album’s opener, perfectly sets the tone for the songs that follow in energetic, sing-along ready choruses and stunning vocal work from Josh Franceschi. From there, the album is honestly just an absolute joy to listen to. It’s clear, from track to iconic track, that the band had fun when working on these songs. They sound passionate, well thought out, and most importantly, catchy as fuck.
From “DEEP CUTS”, the album dives right into the anthemic “Mixed Emotions (I Didn’t Know How To Tell You What I Was Going Through)” before hitting the soon to be fan favorite “God Bless The 90s Kids,” which feels like it would sit perfectly alongside early the 2000’s pop-punk greats. Then there’s “After Love In The After Horus”, which finally takes the albums first dark turn, carried by gritty guitar, powerful bass and aggressive vocals.
On an album full of standouts, it’s difficult to find specific high points, making it worth more than a few listens to fully take it in. Some notable mentions, however, are the heavy “No Future? Yeah Right” featuring Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds, as well as the hip-hop influenced “Breakdown” which easily stands out from the pack. There’s also the slower, softer, “:mydopamine:” and “A Smile To Make You Weak(er) At The Knees”, which features guitar tones that feel reminiscent of the 80’s.
Truth Decay honestly just feels like a victory lap from You Me At Six. If you somehow aren’t already familiar with the band, it’s a perfect place to start, and if you’re a longtime fan, then it’ll come as no surprise that they absolutely crushed this one.