Cavalier Youth

Cavalier Youth is the fourth studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 27 January 2014 through BMG.

A few months after the release of their third studio album Sinners Never Sleep, the band had started writing new material in early 2012.

"Lived a Lie" was released as the lead single in September 2013, which was promoted with a headlining US tour, and then a support slot for Thirty Seconds to Mars in the United Kingdom.

"Room to Breathe" was released as the album's third single in March 2014, while the Cold Night EP appeared the next month.

"Forgive and Forget" was released as the album's fifth single December 2014, which was then followed with a co-headlining UK arena tour with All Time Low.

Cavalier Youth received generally favourable reviews from music critics, some highlighting its arena sound, while others felt that the songs were uninspired.

"Lived a Lie" charted at number 11 in the UK, while "Hope for the Best" and "Fresh Start Fever" reached lower positions.

[5] In January 2012, vocalist Josh Franceschi said that he and Helyer had been writing new material, but estimated that they would not be working on another album for at least a year.

[10] In the lead up to the Wembley event, guitarist Chris Miller said they have some ideas for the next album,[11] and by February 2013, they began working on Cavalier Youth.

[15] In April and May 2013, the band supported Pierce the Veil and All Time Low in North America on the Spring Fever tour.

According to drummer Dan Flint, Avron "tor[e] apart our songs" and on occasion suggest additional fills to play.

[37] "Fresh Start Fever" displays Franceschi's vocal prowess,[37] receiving comparisons to Infinity on High (2007)-era Fall Out Boy in the process,[39] especially on that group's track "Thnks fr th Mmrs".

[45] The riff in "Cold Night" came about from Helyer playing with his Roland Space Echo pedal;[29] the track was compared to Jimmy Eat World.

[56] The iTunes Store edition included the documentary, as well as "Champagne Wishes" and the music video for "Lived a Lie".

"[61] Summers said they picked it out of four possible choices, say it had the "makings of a great rock song - big guitars, soaring vocals and lyrics that everyone can identify with".

[73] In September and October 2013, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Cute Is What We Aim For, Conditions, Tonight Alive and Dinosaur Pile-Up.

[74] Following this, the band supported Thirty Seconds to Mars on their headlining tour of mainland Europe, followed by a stint in the UK through to November 2013.

[81] In September, the group played a one-off show in Singapore,[82] and then went on a co-headlining Australian tour with Tonight Alive.

[88] In early 2015, the band played one-off shows in Guildford and Hoxton, London as part of Independent Venue Week and Passport: Back To The Bars, respectively.

[89] In February 2015, the group went on a co-headlining UK arena tour with All Time Low, with support from Walk the Moon.

[90] In April and May, the band played in Australia with Luca Brasi supporting, around their appearance at the Groovin' the Moo festival.

[94] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy wrote that the band had a "slightly more mature outlook on life, while still connecting with an audience submerged in adolescent angst".

[44] This Is Fake DIY's Sarah Jamieson write that the band offered an "array of songs that will undoubtedly allow them access to the upper echelons of arena pop-rock that have already been calling".

writer Michael Heath felt that the band "returned with a more widely appreciated tone", scaling back the "dark sinister nature" of the previous album.

[96] The Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan wrote that the tracks "aren't subtle or overly innovative, but they hit their target", as the album was "consistently tuneful, yet also pile-driving and monolithic"[97] MusicRadar's David Hands shared a similar sentiment, stating that the "yearning melodies make these songs feel instantly familiar and the personal emotion resonates".

[98] AllMusic reviewer Scott Kerr despite the three years between albums, Cavalier Youth does not "show much appetite to push the boundaries" of their sound.

[39] Sputnikmusic staff writer DaveyBoy said apart from the opening three songs, the rest of the album was "very much a mixed bag, failing to hit the target more often than it succeeds".

[36] Alternative Press writer Evan Lucy said the album was "brimming with the kind of rafter-reaching rock that’s tailor made for filling Wembley Arena".

[35] Tom Doyle of Thrash Hits referred to it as the "most blatant attempt yet from the band to grow up", seeing it as a "bit boring".

[40] The Observer subeditor Paul Mardles was highly critical, saying that the album was full of "formulaic riffs, festival-friendly choruses and timeworn sentiments", discarding it as "corporate alt-rock at its most pedestrian".