Hold Me Down

Music Review No.4

Hold Me Down Album Cover

‘Hold Me Down’ is the second studio album by Surrey based band YouMeAtSix. They released it on the 11th January 2010 as the follow up to their debut ‘Take Off Your Colours’ which came out in late 2008.

Where ‘Take Off Your Colours’ was more Pop-Punk, this musical offering is heavier; stripping them of the Pop-Punk stereotype they’d been placed under. Before I delve into the musical side of things I’d like to pause the background of the writing of the album. By the summer of 2009 Josh Franceschi, lead vocalist, had written the thing. It was a happy offering of lyrics all about touring and playing the Warped Tour in America and their success so far. However, when he came home there were problems with his girlfriend and sadly they broke up. A majority of the album is about her naturally but also the music industry and the haters which bad talk the band. After the breakup Josh holed up with his mum and rewrote the whole album.

When in comparison to ‘Take Off Your Colours’, ‘Hold Me Down’ shows how much the band has grown in the past few years. There are lots of hooks, memorable choruses and catchy bass lines which all come together to give songs which show clear progression. We are taken on an emotional journey where we hear anger, pleading, sadness, defiance and acceptance. In the the third song ‘Playing The Blame Game’ towards the end there is a definite echo of when the band had ‘screamo’ within their songs as Josh’s vocals are much rougher and rawer. Perhaps this will mean during live performances we’ll hear him scream again. In fact in several of the songs the emotion is heard in his voice depending on if it’s melodic or rough and ready. It is clear that the front man’s vocals have improved greatly since recording the first album too as it has lost some of the whining that could be hear in the last record.

Of course it has not only been Josh who has shown variety and improvement. Chris Miller (Lead Guitar), Max Heyler (Rhythm Guitar), Matt Barnes (Bass) and Dan Flint (Drums) all bring something different to the table of their second record. I’d reckon that Matt in particular had fun with his bass lines as in several of the songs they’re enough to make your head bop in time and start to move into a dance. Both Chris and Max both show their talent too with hooks and riffs to make the songs memorable and the slight heaviness needed. And of course Dan who pounds away on his drums for the duration of the album no doubt giving himself numerous blisters in the process but adding to the body of the songs.

As a whole the album has the right mix of songs going from heavy and fast paced to lighter and slower. It’s a good mix which can allow for something for everyone. With an album like this YM@S will pull in many new fans from the UK and beyond, as they’ve toured all over the world with Paramore, Fall Out Boy and toured America with the Warped Tour. The next few years will be holding a lot of potential  for these boys so watch this space.

Songs to Listen to.

Underdog

Playing The Blame Game

Stay With Me

Contagious Chemistry

Fireworks

Rating: 9/10

Popularity: 21% [?]