Suckapunch is the seventh studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 15 January 2021, through the band's own label Underdog Records and AWAL. Within a month of releasing their sixth studio album VI, they had recorded "What's It Like" at VADA Studios in Alcester in November 2018. The touring circle for that album continued into mid-2019, when they started recording a new album with Dan Austin in October and November 2019 at Karma Sound Studios in Bang Saray, Thailand. Suckapunch is a rock album with electronic, hip hop and R&B influences.
Suckapunch received generally favourable reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented the songwriting and the album's aggressive tone. The album topped the album charts in both Scotland and the United Kingdom, in addition to charting in Germany. "What's It Like" was released as a single in August 2019; promotion for the album did not start until "Make Me Feel Alive" was released as a single in August 2020. "Suckapunch" and "Adrenaline" followed as singles in November 2020 and January 2021, respectively. Between May and July 2021, the band went toured the UK twice; they went on a short tour in September 2021, prior to a supporting slot for Bring Me the Horizon on their arena tour. Kerrang! included the album on their list for the 50 best releases of the year.
Background You Me at Six released their sixth studio album VI in October 2018, reaching number six on the UK Albums Chart. Initial promotion consisted of a two-month tour of the United Kingdom in November and December 2018. While the tour was intended to promote VI, the band used the stint to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut studio album Take Off Your Colours (2008). You Me at Six rehearsed for the tour at VADA Studios in Alcester in November 2018, where they had recorded VI; as the band had new song ideas, they ended up recording them, one of which was "What's It Like".Rogers 2021, p. 37 By July 2019, the band were in the planning stages for their next album.
On 16 August 2019, "What's It Like" was released as a single; around this time, the band appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The following month, the band concluded the touring cycle for VI with a headlining slot at Gunnersville festival. In the months leading up to it, three of the band members went through break-ups. Following the show, the members were in discussion about moving out of London, and going travelling. They wanted to return to the studio as soon as possible, with their management being hesitant about this as they felt the band did not have enough material for an album at this point. The band did pre-production at drummer Dan Flint's home studio, dubbed The Boneyard.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 0:42–54
Recording You Me at Six had planned to use VADA for the main album sessions, but when working out the budget, it was proposed working in Thailand. The band's guitarist, Max Helyer, said it was a friend that suggested the country, while Barnes said it was his idea, with the latter saying their other options were either in Wales or Belgium.Amazon Music 2021, event occurs at 1:20–4 In October and November 2019, the band went to Bang Saray, Thailand to recorded at Karma Sound Studios with producer Dan Austin. Austin previously produced VI; as the band became more comfortable with him, he helped to push their boundaries. Before arriving, the band had written five complete songs, and had ideas for 20 more; they eventually recorded there for five weeks total.Rogers 2021, p. 38 Bang Saray is a fishing village on the country's Eastern side, close to the city Pattaya. Flint said the country was "a way for us to block out the noise, escape the outside world ... I'm not saying we went to Thailand to find ourselves, but being locked in this blissful bubble gave us clarity."
"Kill the Mood" was partially recorded in Los Angeles, California over a two-hour session and Bluebell Hill Studio in Kent, before being finished in Thailand.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 8:17–32Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 15:03–6 With the members having flown to Thailand, they could only take a limited amount of equipment with them. Bassist Matt Barnes took two Marshall amplifiers, the JCM800 model for distorted parts and the JTM45 model for clean parts. He used the Peavey 5150 and 6505 models of amplifier heads that the studio had. Helyer took his pedalboard and an Audio Kitchen Little Chopper amplifier head with him and found that the studio had a Fender Twin amplifier, which he found to have a similar sound to his own equipment. He mainly used that, but would occasionally use a Kemper amplifier to achieve a "little bit more of a clearer sound".
Composition and lyrics Musically, Suckapunch has been described as rock, incorporating electronic flourishes. Vocalist Josh Franceschi said VI "felt like we were sparring with the idea of the next step for the band", while Suckapunch "feels like we're there". He explained that the band was more comfortable utilizing elements of hip hop and R&B into their sound, without it coming across as contrived. The band wrote the majority of the tracks alone, but employed additional writers on a few tracks: Nick Hodgson on "Beautiful Way"; Julian Emery and Jim Irvin on "Suckapunch"; Mark Jackson and Ian Scott on "Kill the Mood"; and Corey Sanders and Jon Maguire on "Adrenaline". Sanders had been a long-term fan of the band, having met them a decade prior and told them he would eventually write a song with them.You Me at Six 2021c, event occurs at 2:45–3:02 Some of the songs originated while the band was touring their fifth studio album Night People (2017), which were intentionally left off VI.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 0:13–23 Discussing the album's title, said Franceschi: "We're coming back here, no fear, we're just gonna go for it [...] You Me at Six making music with zero fear with the handbrake off".Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 14:20–33
The opening track, "Nice to Me", is an industrial rock and garage rock song that sets the tone for the rest of the album, complete with glitchy percussion and synthesizer work. The song was one of the last songs done during the demoing phase prior to visiting Thailand; the demo was made at Helyer's home studio and consisted of ideas for an intro, verse and chorus sections. Despite its incomplete state, Franceschi said it felt like an opener to an album.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 1:22–41 The title phrase originates from one of the staff members at Karma Sound, when answering a question would say "only if you're nice to me".You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 3:29–52 Franceschi came up with a number of the lyrics when he was swimming in a pool; when they were recording guitars for it, Franceschi spent 15–20 minutes working on the rest of the words, after having watched The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016).You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 4:34–40Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 3:16–4:14 "Make Me Feel Alive", which was almost titled "A/S/L", talks about having control, losing it, and then eventually reclaiming it. It dates back to June–July 2019 when Franceschi was at Flint's residence and the latter showed the former an early version of the track that he worked on with Helyer.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 4:43–58 The guitars and drums were recorded with varispeed, which can make instruments sound like they have been sampled. It is the band's heaviest song since "Bite My Tongue" on their third studio album Sinners Never Sleep (2011), and is driven by Flint's breakbeats.
"Beautiful Way" is about the relationship one has with themselves, getting older, and accepting flaws. Franceschi and Helyer spent two days writing the song; when Helyer started playing an arpeggio, Franceschi thought it sounded like "Mr. Brightside" (2003) by the Killers and encouraged him to continue working on it.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 18:14–9; 18:37–49 They initially came up with a chorus section in half-time, but Franceschi felt that it hampered the song.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 19:14–22 He said the chorus should match the intensity of the lyrics, to which Helyer said he had been listening to drum and bass.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 19:34–6; 19:56–8 Barnes and Helyer had gotten into that style of music, and felt it would give the song more energy.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 19:59–20:11 "WYDRN", short for What You Doing Right Now, was written in Toronto, Canada, and sees the band make R&B-indebted rock. The song's creation was a result of Flint and Franceschi talking about music, going into their separate rooms to work on ideas and merged them together.You Me at Six 2021a, event occurs at 21:19–37 Franceschi said they wanted to do their own take on emo rap without appearing as if they were following a trend.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 10:32–46
"Suckapunch" sees the band move into dance-rock and electro territory, and is about finding one's self. It evolved out of a 90-second voicenote that had Franceschi mumbling and Helyer playing piano.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 1:18–28 Guitarist Chris Miller said it reminded him of music from The Matrix (1999) and the work of Rage Against the Machine.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 0:20–5 Franceschi had song's riff for a few years and would occasionally play it to the band acoustically.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 2:02–12 The riff was then played electronically akin to 1990s dance from Ibiza.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 2:20–5 "Kill the Mood" was written in Los Angeles, California; the band wanted it to be a "Kendrick Lamar [track] with guitars".You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 9:20–2 Helyer had come up with the chord progression while in Birmingham when promoting Night People.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 9:41–50 When in Los Angeles, Franceschi remembered the chord progression and suggested they incorporate it into the song.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 9:56–10:00 Alongside this, Helyer used other guitar parts, such as a "sludgy down progression" recalling the "swaggy rock and roll" of Oasis, merging it with a West Coast hip hop sound.You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 10:13–31
The ballad "Glasgow" discusses the loss of a loved one and coming to terms with it. Describing the lyrics, Franceschi said: "[Y]ou can either grow to resent that person, or grow to accept and respect how they feel and move on". Franceschi came up with rough ideas for the melody while in his basement, and later showed it to the rest of the band during a rehearsal.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 18:04–25 They expanded on it and finished it after three further jam sessions; Flint said the city of the same name was one of their favourite locations to perform.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 18:55–19:00You Me at Six 2021b, event occurs at 12:49–52 "Adrenaline" talks about having split personalities, and relying on co-dependency, which was something Franceschi realised he struggled with.Rock Sound 2021, event occurs at 23:12–8 It was written in a studio north of Alexandra Palace in London around the November–December 2018 UK tour, while the middle eight was later done in Thailand.You Me at Six 2021c, event occurs at 0:18–25; 2:26–2:43; 3:17–9 According to Helyer, "Voicenotes" was influenced by Igor's Theme" (2019) by Tyler, the Creator. Barnes said the guitars in it acts in a call-and-response manner and panned differently.You Me at Six 2021c, event occurs at 6:32–6 The guitar part that Helyer had demoed was a single-note riff that featured throughout the track.You Me at Six 2021c, event occurs at 6:40–50 When they tried recording it, he thought it "sounds a bit crap"; Barnes then thought that the riff should be played on a bass and the guitars should be enhanced by a DigiTech Whammy pedal.You Me at Six 2021c, event occurs at 7:03–11; 7:25–35