A Place to Bury Strangers | Onwards to the Wall

CD Reviews

You Me at Six | Sinners Never Sleep

Virgin Records (2011)

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 24, 2012

3.0 Stars

There was no reason for UK act You Me at Six to do much more than stay the pop-punk-ish course that helped them become the darlings of the Brit-rock press — plus the objects of desire for English high school girls who wanted a Jack's Mannequin to call their own. Two years ago the band fit that bill with their breakthrough effort, Hold Me Down, but this time around finds them sharpening the knife, and singer Josh Franceschi twisting it deeper into an already damaged and bleeding heart. The familiar sound is still there; look no further than lead single "Loverboy" and the sweeping "Crash." But there is some straight-up death metal and hardcore help along the way that's as jarring as it is an exciting addition. Vocalist Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon adds a few guttural accents to "Bite My Tongue," and Winston McCall of Aussie metal-core outfit Parkway Drive takes it to another level on "Time Is Money." He comes in toward the end of the three-minute track and adds yet another extremely beefy dimension. Sinners Never Sleep is a transitional album, though such efforts rarely bode as well for the future as this does.

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