Virgin Records.

Release date 11.01.10



So another band weaned on the emotive rock/post-hardcore of Finch, Taking Back Sunday and Lostprophets stands ready to become the next big thing. Hot on the heals of a successful tour with Paramore (now rightfully one of the world’s biggest bands), You Me At Six are presumably seen as a licence to print money by new label Virgin. Especially after the success of debut 'Take Off Your Colours' which featured irrepressibly catchy single 'Save It For The Bedroom'.

And there’s no doubt the Surrey five-piece have talent - unafraid to step up the straight-forward pop-punk to introduce greater musical complexity on follow-up effort 'Hold Me Down'. The trouble is it falls way short of the classic the quintet needed to stand-out from the plethora of similar bands vying for attention in the genre.

In truth their less polished debut was probably better. Hold Me Down’s bouncier, punk tracks like 'Safer to Hate Her' and opener 'The Consequence' undoubtedly get crowds stirred up live. But the best studio tunes, 'Trophy Eyes', with its ethereal electric hook, and 'Stay With Me', a huge emotional chorus showcasing Josh Franceschi’s impressive pipes, sound no different from what’s already on offer from the likes of The Used or Saosin.

 There’s also some unpleasant teenage-romance tosh, which will leave Jimmy Eat World fans asking why Jim Adkins and co even bothered. 'Liquid Confidence' is a collection of whimpering verses and two-a-penny “big” choruses. And traditional slow-burning closer 'Fireworks' shows that ballads are not yet in the band’s locker

The current cream of the crop don’t need to worry about You Me At Six quite yet. But this is a band who have shot to fame in their teens - there’s plenty of time.

Posted In Album Reviews, Jan 17 2010. Words - Cris