You Me At Six 'Cavalier Youth' Album Review

British rock band You Me At Six first formed in their hometown of Surrey back in 2004. For four years, the band toured in small venues around the UK before finally hitting the big time and releasing their debut album 'Take Off Your Colours' in 2008 after being signed to Slam Dunk Records. From then on, the band have only gone from strength to strength and have accumulated an extremely loyal fan base in the process. Now, after winning Best Event at last years Kerrang! awards for their 'Final Night Of Sin' show at Wembley Arena (which celebrated the success their third studio album 'Sinners Never Sleep,) the band are back with the highly anticipated release of their new album 'Cavalier Youth.'

At first listen, Cavalier Youth is everything that you would expect from a You Me At Six album. However, the overall sound of the album is a lot more mature than the likes of 'Hold Me Down' and 'Sinners Never Sleep.' The album is filled with tracks that are bound to be sure fire hits including the ever-so-catchy 'Cold Night' and 'Carpe Diem,' which feature infectious choruses and middle eights that would make any fan chant along at the top of their lungs. Two of the heavier tracks on the album, 'Room To Breathe' and 'Love Me Like You Used To,' really showcase lead singer Josh Franceschi's infamous gravelly vocals which have dramatically improved over the course of the bands career. 

Another stand out record on the album is 'Be Who You Are,' which highlights the bands softer side. This particular song, albeit rather brief, has an incredibly romantic feel to it which is a refreshing change from an otherwise hard-hitting rock album. The bands current single 'Fresh Start Fever,' showcases drummer Dan Flint's talent tremendously as the strong beat definitely carries the song from start to finish. This track is a firm favourite amongst fans and has also made BBC Radio 1's 'A List,' which is, without a doubt, extremely well deserved. 



The conclusive track on the album, 'Wild Ones,' starts of very simplistic and focuses purely on Josh's vocals. This song is very comparable to the final songs on Hold Me Down and Sinners Never Sleep, 'Fireworks' and 'When We Were Younger,' which both start off slowly and gradually become faster paced as the track progresses. With one final crescendo, the bands powerful guitar riffs and melodies build the listener up once again to an almighty finish.

The full track listing for the album is as follows:

1. Too Young To Feel This Old
2. Lived A Lie
3. Fresh Start Fever
4. Forgive And Forget
5. Room To Breathe
6. Win Some, Lose Some
7. Cold Night
8. Hope For The Best
9. Love Me Like You Used To
10. Be Who You Are
11. Carpe Diem
12. Wild Ones

Overall, 'Cavalier Youth' is cohesively a brilliant album with twelve engaging and utterly unique tracks. It is clear to see that the Surrey quintet have matured and come on leaps and bounds in recent months. With plenty of tour dates both in the UK and Europe already lined up, 2014 is set to be a great year for one of Britain's best rock bands. You Me At Six are undoubtedly back with a bang!

It's My Birthday!

Hi guys. As you can tell from the title of this blog post, today is my birthday! I am now 19 and only have one year left of being a teenager. As I did most of my celebrating over the weekend, today has been a pretty chilled day. My friend and fellow blogger Chloe came over and we spent the day together. I have decided that since I haven't done a post for about a week or so now, I would show you all what my lovely friends and family got me present wise. This isn't me trying to brag or anything like that, but I would simply like to share my excitement and my birthday with you all. Also, apologies for my poor photography skills but I took them very quickly earlier on today!

Firstly, my friend Bethany has kindly given me her copy of 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' by John Green and David Leuithan. I am really excited to read it knowing that she loved it so much. Plus, after reading both 'The Fault In Our Stars' and 'Looking For Alaska,' I have become a huge John Green fan. Bethany also bought me a really cute notebook. Knowing that I am really into writing, she thought it would be the perfect gift for me.

Secondly, my very talented friend Lucy drew me this amazing picture of myself and Josh Franceschi. For those of you who don't already know, my favourite band are You Me At Six and I have a slight love/obsession for Josh. I really love this sketch and I am going to buy a cute frame for it so I can display it proudly in my bedroom!

Next, my friend Charlotte got me this cute make-up bag with lots of lovely goodies inside.  I am in desperate need of a new make-up bag as my other one is getting a bit dirty - so I am very happy. Inside were a few pampering products including the face mask and hair mask above. She also got me a lovely strawberry scented Natural Collection shower gel which smells amazing - however, I have already started using it and so I have not included it in today's post. The last thing Charlotte got me is a pack of five adorable string-like bracelets from Topshop which I adore, but as they are so small and delicate, my camera could not pick up the detail in them very well at all - hence I have not included a photo :(

Chloe (Coco Mykel) got me a Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleansing Kit which I am chuffed with! I have never used any high-end skin care products before and I have heard so many rave reviews about this particular product. I am very excited to use it and pamper myself tonight! The kit also comes with a handy little guide giving step-by-step instructions. I will most likely end up dedicating a whole post to this product in the future after I have been using it for a while, so that I can review the product for you all. 

My friend Danielle got me these wonderful goodies. Everybody who knows me is aware that my alcoholic beverage of choice is vodka. I am looking forward to my next night out so that I can crack open this bottle. I am also addicted to Drumstick Squashies and Galaxy chocolate so I am definitely going to be pigging out over the next few days.

In addition, my parents got me a bottle of 'Reb'l Fleur' by Rihanna but I forgot to photgraph this! This is my all time favourite perfume and I use it almost every day. I cannot really explain the smell to you but it is gorgeous. This is probably about the fourth bottle I have gotten now, as everybody knows how much I love it! I definitely recommend to all of my readers. My parents also got me two really cute matching underwear sets but I have decided not to include them ;)

Overall, I have had a wonderful birthday and I am so thankful for all of the gifts that my friends and family have bought me. It makes me realise how much I appreciate them and how much they care for me. I am one lucky girl :) Thank you all for reading!

15 Facts About Me

I thought that I would do another little introductory type post so that you can all learn a little more about me! I've seen many bloggers do a 'facts about me' post, so I thought I would also use this concept. Although, it has taken me a while to think of 15 random facts! So here it goes...

1. I live in Essex, England.

2. My favourite band are You Me At Six.

3. I used to belong to a dance team and was dancing from a very young age, we were even South East England champions!

4. I never completed college, I dropped out after two months and ended up going on to do an apprenticeship in web design.

5.  I once got stung by a jellyfish whilst I was on holiday in Menorca.

6. I have a dog called Sasha, she is a Labrador Husky cross and is extremely adorable.

7.  I suffer from anxiety and have done since I was roughly 10 or 11 years old.

8. The furthest I have ever travelled is to New York, I even bought my prom dress whilst I was over there!

9. I have danced in the famous Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

10. It took six times for me to pass my driving test (my nerves always got the better of me!)

11. My middle name is Leigh because if I was a boy, I was going to be called Lee.

12. An obsession of mine is the TV show 'Friends.' I have probably seen each episode at least 50 times each and regularly annoy my family & friends by quoting it.

13. I once painted myself gold and went as a Golden Ticket to a Charlie & The Chocolate Factory themed party.

14. The two main talents that I wish I possess is to be able to sing and to play the guitar.

15. 'Elf' is one of my favourite films and me and my family watch it every Christmas, it is like a tradition!