You Me At Six look set to cement their rise from underground heroes to mainstream success with the June 22nd release of their second album Hold Me Down via Virgin Records. Debuting at #5 in the UK, Hold Me Down is the follow up to their 2008 debut Take Off Your Colours.
Their propelling live performances at the Alternative Press Fall Ball Tour last year (with The Academy Is…, Mayday Parade, Set Your Goals and The Secret Handshake) and the August leg of Van’s Warped Tour, demanded a return to the US this year to celebrate the release of Hold Me Down.
Hold Me Down finds the Surrey, UK quintet fulfilling their potential with a collection of soaring hooks and irresistible melodies. It captures You Me At Six’s live exuberance with “Playing The Blame Game” breaching the gap between pop-punk energy and the snappy immediacy of new wave, while “Safer To Hate Her” alternates between a tender, melancholic riff and a fiercely defiant chorus. But Hold Me Down demonstrates that the band aren’t reliant on pure energy as closing track “Fireworks” escalates from its initial reflective tone into a soaring conclusion. The album also highlights a guest appearance from Kids In Glass Houses vocalist Aled Phillips on “Trophy Eyes.”
