ATP! Interview: You Me At Six

You Me At Six have had one heck of a year. Their fourth album, Cavalier Youth, hit number one on the UK charts, their single “Room To Breathe” is in the top ten of rock radio and they played the main stage at the epic Reading and Leeds festival. Next on the to-do list: Their second headlining tour in America, their first one being just last year. “There’s been a lot more buzz behind our band and more success at radio with "Room To Breathe"," says rhythm guitarist Max Helyer. “We’re excited to see what it’s going to be like since it’s been a year. After doing some promotional stuff in the States, Max says there’s “really good press coming our way.”


“The most important thing about rock music is us being there playing our music in front of people. That’s what we primarily look at most, what songs people want to hear live and what we can do to make it different,” Max says when asked what they’re bringing to the U.S. tour this time around. “We just have to put on a show and make people walk out of that venue every night going, ‘Wow! I’m really glad I got to see this band.’” Max thinks that a lot of that stems from making sure they’re playing the right songs, especially after feedback that they were playing too much new stuff and that fans would like to hear a bit more of the older songs. “It’s just us putting on a great, energetic live show and making everybody in that room feel connected with us.”

Even with the extreme success of Cavalier Youth, You Me At Six are still pushing to go for bigger and better things. “The next time we come back with new material, we’ve got to take it up to the next step…start making damage across every country in the world,” Max says. “We’re showing people why we’re hungry enough to take over America.” He thinks it’s “a big make or break time for the band” and though they thought Cavalier Youth would be the album to push them over the edge, it didn’t quite get there. “Cavalier Youth stepped up massively. We’ve had great success on this album, and it kind of sounds like I’m ungrateful, though I really am, but I’m a bit hungrier to go out and achieve more.” While this album is the best Max thinks they’ve done so far, he still believes they have more to give and can create something even more amazing. “I think we have a lot more to give musically and show that we’ve got more of a long term career in it.”


The band already has nine years and four albums invested in their career and they have an honesty, ambition and dedication that some other artists out there do not. “We’re a good honest rock band. We play our own instruments live… I think one of the biggest compliments that we’ve ever been given before is that we do have our own kind of niche and we don’t follow rules. I think we wanted to set our own rules and our own foundations down so that we can look back and no matter what happens in our band’s career we can always say that was our decision,” Max says proudly.

Their drive and honesty also carries over into a side project that three separate members all take part in: clothing lines. Max says that it gives him a chance to take a breather from music for a little while. “You get sucked in a bit too much and never have any time for yourself. You’ve got to have a hobby as well.” He also says he wants his line to be not just clothing, but also more of a lifestyle too. He and a close friend founded Antique Clothing to “inspire a generation.” “You’ve got to look at how the Internet and how blogging are changing the world. From the fashion side, to discovering new music…they go hand in hand quite well. We give a variation of stuff that we’ve liked, what got us into this side of the world of music, media and fashion,” he says.

With their high ambitions and constant drive, You Me At Six is poised to have an even bigger year next year. “We’re just excited to get back on the road playing songs again and seeing our fans and finish this cycle up with a bang. I think next year will really do that for us with what we’ve got up our sleeves,” Max says.

Words by Lauren Jones

Cavalier Youth is available now. Dates and ticket information for You Me At Six's upcoming North American tour can be found here.