You/me/us (Album)

You/Me/Us, stylized as “you/me/us", previously known as HOURGLASS, is the 3rd studio album by American rock band The Mane. The album was released on October 6th, 2023, and a tour revolving around the album commenced on February 2024, and concluded on May 31st. 
== Background, promotion, and release ==
In June of 2022, after the success of The Mane's comeback album, I Sincerely Apologize, Xavier concluded the I Sincerely Apologize era, with several cryptic tweets, with videos and images of strange noises, images of hourglasses, and grainy videos posted to his social media and his band's socials as well. Later that month, The Mane confirmed that a 3rd album was in the works, firstly titled "TM3", and then "Hourglass" (styled as _ hourglass” or “\/ hourglass /\“).
In February of 2023, in a Reddit AMA with Damien "Dami" Copeland, Dami revealed that the hourglass concept for The Mane's 3rd album was scrapped, and the project was rebranded and renamed to something else. Dami and the band felt that having an hourglass theme as the main focus of the new album/era didn't fit the band's initial vision.u/UGotzDaSauwce: How's Hourglass coming along? I'm pumped.
u/DamiCopeland: Hi, we scrapped the Hourglass concept back in October lol. The next album will have a brand-new sound and feel to it, and we collectively agreed that the hourglass theme didn't fit the initial vibe. We may mention hourglasses a couple times and that's it, but it's not the primary focus now. TM3 is real different, this will shock many of you guys, Im just sayin. Apologies to those who were rocking with the hourglass.Three weeks before the first single off you/me/us was released, The Mane changed the layouts their social media profiles to a solid blue color. The Roman numerals "III" were also present, including in the band's display name (stylized as "THE IIIANE"). "Letting go", the first single from you/me/us, was released on March 23rd.
On June 26th, 2023, The Mane teased their 2nd single for the album, titled “Stuck in the deep end”, which was released on June 30th. The release date for the album was set for October 6th, 2023. The Mane also announced their first tour, the “you/me/us together tour”, which would start in February 2024. Two more singles, “The worst” and “Psycho” were released on August 20th.
The album finally released on its set date, October 6th. Special edition CDs and vinyls, featuring blue, black, and white paint splatters, were sold online, along with merch promoting the tour. 
== Conception ==
you/me/us’ sound is much more heavier than The Mane’s previous works, as the band diverges into metalcore, heavy rock, and nu metal. Damien, Xavi, and the rest of the band came to the decision to make heavier music during a band meeting at Quiznos, according to Dami.“We decided to have a heavier sound to our music when we were chowing down at Quiznos in Indiana. The idea of us making super cool heavy rock was awesome, Leo getting a tuna sub was not. He reeked of that shit.”
== Reception ==
Although you/me/us didn’t financially perform as well as its predecessor, the album still got positive reception from both fans and critics, receiving an average of 4 out of 5 star reviews. The band, despite loving the album, says that it may not delve back into heavier music, since softer rock seems to be their forte. However, frontman Xavier Ellis will continue creating heavier music for his solo work.