You Me At Six - Cavalier Youth

It’s no surprise to see You Me At Six face the tipping point of their career. With each of their previous albums, they’ve gained momentum and climbed chart spots. Every year, they find themselves further up festival bills. Towards the end of their ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ campaign, they headlined a sold out, one-off show at Wembley Arena. So far, they’ve seemed to hold all the right cards, but with their fourth album, they really - maybe now, more than ever - need to play the right hand.

‘Cavalier Youth’ could well be it. Recruiting Neal Avron on production duties, the band have created an array of songs that will undoubtedly allow them access to the upper echelons of arena pop-rock that have already been calling. With the man behind the likes of Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park and New Found Glory at the helm, they’ve restored enough of their scrappy pop-punk-infused sound of old, whilst giving it that sheen and sparkle that will see their choruses stuck in the heads of many a passing listener.

Granted, there are some inescapable moments of corniness – ‘I’m in a different district, hunger games’ from ‘Win Some, Lose Some’ comes to mind - but overall, this album sings of positivity, of sunshine, of friendship. When it comes to this band, there has and always will be naysayers of the scene, but for a group of five young men who are tentatively standing on the edge of something great, these huge, glorious, shining songs - are a step in the right direction.