Take Off Your Colours
Take Off Your Colours is the debut studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, originally released on 6 October 2008 through Slam Dunk Records. After forming in 2004, they released an EP titled We Know What It Means to Be Alone in 2006, and went on a tour with Elliot Minor in support of the release. After releasing "Save It for the Bedroom" as a single to promote their tour, the band gained attention from both independent and major record labels.
Take Off Your Colours
Following their tour with Elliot Minor, the writing process for the new album began. Although all the music's writing was credited to the entire band, vocalist Josh Franceschi and guitarist Max Helyer were usually the biggest creative forces among the group, being responsible for songs' concepts. The album was recorded in two weeks at Outhouse Studios in Reading, Berkshire with producers Matt O'Grady and John Mitchell. The band's work resulted in Take Off Your Colours displaying a sound that most critics associated with pop-punk, though this result was unintended. Specifically, the record was noted to sound similar to the work of Fall Out Boy, New Found Glory, and Panic! at the Disco.
"If I Were In Your Shoes", "Gossip", and "Jealous Minds Think Alike" were released as singles to promote the album, the latter of which became the band's first charting song. During the album's recording sessions, "Save It for the Bedroom" was re-recorded, and this version became the album's fourth single. Two more singles, "Finders Keepers" and "Kiss and Tell", later appeared on re-releases of the album. The latter four singles managed to chart, and the album itself peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart. Take Off Your Colours was certified gold in the UK for shipments of 100,000 copies in July 2012.
Background[edit]
Guitarists Josh Franceschi and Max Helyer previously played in a short-lived band at school, prior to You Me at Six.[1] After Franceschi wanted to become a vocalist, him and Helyer jammed for a few months, until bassist and college friend Matt Barnes began playing with them. Franceschi knew of Barnes from the local music scene; the three of them decided to form a band. Guitarist Chris Miller, who lived on the same street as Barnes, was brought into the fold, followed by drummer Joe Philips.[2] This marked the formation of You Me at Six in 2004, basing themselves in Weybridge, Surrey.[3] For their early shows, the gigs would be booked solely on the amount of screaming they could coax from the audiences. As their local scene leaned on heavy-sounding music, the band had to push themselves to win over the crowds, eventually earning a notable reputation amongst their peers.[4] Despite some of the members still attending college, the band became their main priority. They rehearsed three to four times a week,[5] accumulating enough songs for their debut album. With the money from their shows, they self-released their debut EP, We Know What It Means to Be Alone, on New Year's Day 2007.[6]
You Me at Six had a heavy focus on performing in Surrey and parts of London. They traveled to these shows, which had been planned through the Myspace platform, by travelling via MegaBus. In April 2007, they appeared at a showcase of up-and-coming artists at the Camden Underworld in London, and by the following month, they supported Saosin in Leeds. These performances attracted attention from Kerrang! and NME. At the end of May 2007, they opened the Slam Dunk Festival, which allowed them to grow their fan base outside of their regional scene.[7] Phillips left the band amidst creative differences on their direction.[8] Dan Flint, another college friend, was initially asked to fill in on drums for a tour. He ended up becoming Phillips' permanent replacement after Slam Dunk.[9] Ben Ray, who ran the festival, was interested in managing the band and putting out their music.[10] They played another show at the Camden Underworld in June 2007; by this point, they had acquired a press agent and were starting to attract attention from people in the music industry.[10]
Over the next two months, they played support slots for one-off shows with Paramore and Furthest Drive, and joined This Is Goodbye on their national tour.[11] Around this time, You Me at Six self-released an untitled EP.[12] Preceded by a show supporting Fightstar,[11] You Me at Six went on tour with Elliot Minor, during which both bands released singles.[13] "Save It for the Bedroom" was released on 22 October 2007 through Slam Dunk Records,[14] a label co-founded by the band with help from their manager and fans.[15] The single featured "You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep in It)" as the B-side,[16] and both tracks would later appear on Take Off Your Colours.[17] A music video for "Save It for the Bedroom" had been released a few days prior and was directed by Lawrence Hardy.[18] The band's release sold more copies than Elliot Minor's single, which was released through a major label. This situation made it clear to the band that, according to Franceschi, "major labels are good but over the years they have totally lost touch of what sells."[15] By this time, the group was in discussion with a range of independent and major labels.[15]
Writing and recording[edit]
Following the Elliot Minor tour, You Me at Six began writing material for their debut album.[13] In late November and early December 2007, the band went on their first headlining tour of the UK, with support from Flood of Red. During the latter month, the band wrote further material.[19] Typically, Helyer or Franceschi would have an idea that the band would then flesh out together. Occasionally, the band would record demos and change sections of them.[9] By this point, Franceschi dropped out of college while Helyer and Miller continued their studies.[20] In February and March 2008, they went on a UK tour with the Audition.[21] Prior to going into a studio, You Me at Six had finished seven-to-eight completed songs.[22] The band recorded their debut album over the course of two weeks,[23] between March and May 2008 at Outhouse Studios in Reading, Berkshire.[22]
Matt O'Grady and John Mitchell handled producer duties, with Mitchell also mixing the proceedings, while Tim Turan mastered the album.[17] The band were in awe of O'Grady as they were fans of his former band Fastlane,[24] Author Neil Daniels, in his book You Me at Six – Never Hold an Underdog Down (2015) said O'Grady's past experience made him the "perfect guy" to be their engineer.[25] O'Grady encouraged Franceschi's vocal performance, as Flint explained: "Getting into the studio was very daunting for all of us, and Matt gave him the confidence to express how he felt, to know that he really could sing." Helyer said as they only used one amplifier, the guitar tone remained the same throughout the album.[24] "Save It for the Bedroom" and "You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep in It)", which were initially released as a single in 2007, were re-recorded during the album's studio sessions. Franceschi's sister Elissa provided additional vocals on "Always Attract".[17]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
The album's sound has been described by critics as pop-punk[26][27] and emo pop.[28] Daniels said it displayed a "promising young band making a collection of competent, perhaps quite Americanised songs",[29] and as such, noted influences from All Time Low, Blink-182 and Four Year Strong. He added that that You Me at Six "felt like they needed to push themselves ... to make more complicated and diverse [guitar] riffs".[25] The group did not intentionally compose a pop-punk album but "it just sort of came [out] like that," according to Barnes.[30] The band's sound was an attempt to emulate the sound of popular pop-punk groups such as Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco,[31] which was noted by a reviewer.[32] By contrast, the We Know What It Means to Be Alone EP was compared to the sound of the Academy Is..., Paramore and other acts on the record label Fueled by Ramen,[6] while Untitled incorporated influences from Incubus, Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday.[12] At the time, the group was listening to bands such as Blink-182, New Found Glory, and, according to Barnes, "all that sort of Drive-Thru scene."[30] One of the members described it as "a mixture of genres. Some songs are pop-punk and some are rockier and heavier."[33]
The title, Take Off Your Colours, is a quote from a line by the orphan leader in the film The Warriors (1979).[33] Daniels said it features gangs in New York City that would be "distinguished from one another by the colours they wear". The specific scene that informed the name is where children at an orphanage tell one gang to remove their colours, in order to "lose its identity as a collective force whilst as individuals the gang members would also lose their identity". He added that the band members acted as themselves and expected as much from their peers "so the title is not about gangs but rather the concept of personal identity".[34] Flint said Franceschi sung about attending house parties, being young and flirting with girls.[24]
The album opens with "The Truth Is a Terrible Thing", which recalled the sound New Found Glory.[27] Daniels said it begins with a "nifty lead riff" that the rest of the band use to "spring into action".[34] "Call That a Comeback" is an anthemic pop-punk song,[34] and is followed by "Jealous Minds Think Alike", the chorus section of which was compared to the work of Panic! at the Disco.[27] "Save It for the Bedroom" is about couples that find how one of them is cheating through behavioural patterns.[35] "You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep in It)" discusses a breakup,[28] and is followed by "If You Run", which displays Francheschi's skills as a vocalist.[27] "Tigers and Sharks" evoked the early work of Taking Back Sunday,[26] and features shoegaze guitar riffs.[28] "Always Attract" is an acoustic ballad,[26] with vocal harmonies from Franceschi and his sister Elissa,[36] which are done in the vein of Brand New.[27] Preceded by the emo song "Nasty Habits",[29] the album closes with "The Rumour", which has Latin-like rhythms.[28] One of the bonus tracks, "Kiss and Tell", discusses boys wanting to kiss a girl they find attractive.[37]