You Me At Six's newest release “Cavalier Youth” has shown itself to be a great new rock/punk album that has a classic sound as well as an original style. This album covers a range of styles in different genres such as alternative, rock, punk, and pop. The band mixes these genres well and shows that modern rock bands are still around and rocking as always. This 13-track record is one that can last any listener for a while when looking for something new to listen to.
Eighth track “Hope For The Best” is a great example of showing that pop-rock songs are still out there and doing their best to stick out. This style of songwriting isn't seen as much these days but You Me At Six is keeping the spirit of modern rock alive with these songs. The band also covers softer songs on the album like “Be Who You Are”. This type of diversity has been heard before, but that's because it's a strategy that works. Breaking up the usual sound with these types of songs is a great technique and it shows that this band knows what it's doing.
The only problem I have with “Cavalier Youth” is that although it's great on the outside, I didn't find the songs to have a ton of depth to them. Songs like “Carpe Diem” are great to jam to and add a nice atmosphere to the day and they even have hints of huge bands like U2 and Coldplay to them. This is a great comparison but the songs are very vocal-oriented and the music behind the vocals was just a bit lacking. Most of the drum beats, guitar leads, and chord progressions were generic and sometimes boring. The songs were well crafted, but just fell short of bringing an all-original sound to the table.
You Me At Six is great representation that rock bands are still alive and kicking! This is a great thing to see and although I didn't find “Cavalier Youth” to be extremely creative, it was a nice jam had some great lyrics and vocals in it. Give “Cavalier Youth” a listen if you are into the genre and need a new group to discover!
Rating: 6.5/10
- Jordan