Hold Me Down is the second studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records as the follow-up to 2008's Take Off Your Colours. It is the band's first release on the major label Virgin Records. Like their debut album, the album was once again Centropy produced and engineered by John Mitchell and Matt O'Grady. "The Consequence" was made available for free digital download before the first single, "Underdog" preceded the album's release. Despite receiving mixed reviews, Hold Me Down was a commercial success and debuted at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and is certified Gold in the UK for 100,000 shipments of copies.
Background and production You Me at Six's debut album Take Off Your Colours was released in October 2008, produced by Matt O'Grady and John Mitchell. To promote the album, the band sold out the Astoria and the Roundhouse, both in London. They later supported Fall Out Boy and Paramore separately on their Europe tours. Sometime after this, frontman Josh Franceschi broke up with his long-term girlfriend, which to him was the "biggest thing in the world". Writing for their next album dated back to the month of their debut album's release in late 2008. In April and May 2009, the band recorded the majority of their next album, with additional sessions in July 2009; a UK tour took place in between.Daniels 2015, p. 34 In contrast to a few of their peers going to the US to record, the band preferred to record in the UK as it would allow them more studio time to work on getting different production sounds. Sessions were held at Outhouse Studios, located in Reading, Berkshire,Daniels 2015, p. 43 Mitchell and O'Grady returning to produce.
Band members stayed in flats located in the town centre close to the studio. They were nearly evicted from the accommodation on multiple occasions due to partying and skateboarding in the premises.Daniels 2015, pp. 43–44 O'Grady also acted as engineer, while Mitchell mixed the recordings. Bob Ludwig mastered the album at Gateway Mastering. The band intentionally picked Ludwig as they wanted it to have a bigger sound than their debut.Daniels 2015, pp. 44–45 Author Neil Daniels, in his book You Me at Six – Never Hold an Underdog Down (2015) said getting Ludwig meant the band was informing their fanbase that they were "outgrowing their youthful pop-punk roots and maturing".Daniels 2015, p. 45 Franceschi stated that the process took around 6–7 weeks, as opposed to the 2 weeks for Take Off Your Colours. The album also features guest vocals from Aled Phillips of Kids in Glass Houses on "There's No Such Thing as Accidental Infidelity" and Sean Smith of The Blackout on "The Consequence". Prior to release the band stated they were very happy that the album "reflects our growth as people and musicians".
Composition and lyrics Musically, the album has been described as pop punk and pop rock. Daniels noted influences from older 1990s and 2000s acts Incubus, Jimmy Eat World and the Starting Line, in contrast to the peer-influenced direction of their debut album. According to Franceschi, the band evolved their sound, building upon all of the "things we thought were good from Take Off Your Colours". They spent more time writing material, which Franceschi said was "really important, the album like forming the way it did. I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction for our band". Franceschi's lyrical influences during this time consisted of Envy on the Coast, Mayday Parade and rediscovery of Jimmy Eat World.Daniels 2015, p. 42 He had ceased listening to some bands, such as the Bled and Senses Fail, in favour of Foo Fighters. Franceschi's lyrics were more introspective than previously, as the result of him and his girlfriend breaking up. He intentionally avoided addressing her directly, preferring to chronicle how the past year informed his life. The pair later reunited, with her saying "to me a couple of times 'Did you have to write that [line]?', but I think she understood". He mentioned that one major topic of the album is about feeling lost, which he experienced during the album's writing process, in addition to pondering the future of further touring.Daniels 2015, p. 46
"The Consequence" is a darker-edged track that opens the album with sound of sirens; the guitar riff in it recalls the one in "Everyday Combat" by Lostprophets. Franceschi's vocal on it has been compared to Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns. "Underdog" with its focus on drums and guitars earned a comparison to "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" (2008) by Fall Out Boy. "Playing the Blame Game" evokes the sound of Paramore and Panic! at the Disco. Portions of "Stay with Me" were reminiscent of the work of the Used. "Safer to Hate Her" is an emo song that is followed by "Take Your Breath Away", which Daniels saw as a "speedy rocker with a lot of anger and frustration" from Franceschi.Daniels 2015, p. 47 "Liquid Confidence", like "Underdog" before it, talks about the music industry. "Hard to Swallow" continued the pop punk sound of their debut album. "There's No Such Thing as Accidental Infidelity" is a mid-tempo ballad,Daniels 2015, p. 48 which incorporates the band's American influences. The album concludes with the pop punk song "Trophy Eyes" and the pop rock track "Fireworks". Daniels said it displays a "definite progression from Take Off Your Colours with a strong vocal performance, more crafted guitars and decidedly pronounced choruses. A major step forward".
Release and promotion Between September and November 2009, You Me at Six performed on the AP Fall Ball Tour in the US,Daniels 2015, pp. 37–38 with the Academy Is..., Mayday Parade, Set Your Goals and the Secret Handshake. On 11 November 2009, Hold Me Down was announced for release in January 2010. In addition, the album's track listing was revealed. On 25 November, "The Consequence" was released as a free download. In December 2009, the group supported Paramore on their headlining UK tour.Daniels 2015, p. 38 "Underdog" premiered on Nick Grimshaw's BBC Radio 1 show on 17 December 2009. The following day, a music video was released for "The Consequence". Over the Christmas period, the members took a break in order to de-stress from one another.Daniels 2015, p. 39 "Underdog" was posted on the band's Myspace page on 27 December, as was an acoustic rendition of it. A music video, filmed at Brixton Academy in London in December 2009,Daniels 2015, p. 48–49 was released for the track on 4 January 2010. The video stars a ballerina whose ex-boyfriend cheats on her; she dances for the woman he is cheating with. It concludes with the ballerina walking away from her ex, who stands alone as the woman he was with had also left him.Daniels 2015, p. 49
Hold Me Down was released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records. A in-store performance at Banquet Records in London, planned to coincide with the album's release, was moved to the nearby Hippodrome due to the hype surrounding the band.Daniels 2015, p. 50 A series of in-store events would follow in February 2010.Daniels 2015, p. 55 "Underdog" was released as a single, with "Fact-Tastic" and the acoustic version of "Underdog" as additional tracks, on 5 February 2010. In February and March, the band performed at the Soundwave festival in Australia, and then embarked on a headlining UK tour, with support from Forever the Sickest Kids and We the Kings.Daniels 2015, pp. 56, 57, 58 Despite suffering from laryngitis, and going against doctor's advice, Franceschi embarked on the trek.Daniels 2015, p. 58 On 16 March 2010, the album was released in the US. A music video was released for "Liquid Confidence" on 19 March. It sees the band trying to film and met with a myriad of technical issues. The track was released as an EP, with live versions of "The Consequence" and "Kiss and Tell" recorded at Wembley Arena as additional tracks, on 16 April. In May 2010, they did further in-store events, and performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend to close out the month.Daniels 2015, pp. 59, 60
The group supported Bring Me the Horizon for two shows in the US, before embarking on the Warped Tour between late June and early August. A music video was released for "Stay with Me" on 21 July 2010, filmed in a forest in Chatsworth, California. In August the band performed on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. "Stay with Me" was released as a single, with a cover of Ellie Goulding's "Starry Eyed" and an acoustic version of "Stay with Me" as additional tracks, on 3 September. The band then went on tours of New Zealand, Australia and Japan. After a Halloween show they went on another UK headlining tour to close out the year in December 2010,Daniels 2015, p. 63 with support from the Blackout, Set Your Goals and Canterbury. Due to weather issues, two shows were rescheduled for January 2011. The group then added two extra shows around these rescheduled dates. The band wanted "Fireworks" to be the last single from the album, as they felt a ballad would be a good way to close out the promotional cycle. However, at the insistence of Virgin Records, who wanted a heavy-sounding rock track, they issued the non-album song "Rescue Me" (2011) instead, which was a collaboration with Chiddy Bang.Daniels 2015, p. 67 "Knew It Was You", an outtake from Hold Me Down, and an instrumental rendition of "Rescue Me" were included as its B-sides.Daniels 2015, pp. 68–69
In 2021, Franceschi ranked Hold Me Down as his fourth favourite You Me at Six album, stating that it felt as if it was "our first ‘real’ recording of an album. By that I mean we had a longer time to put the record together". That same year the band played a series of celebratory 10th anniversary shows where they performed the album in its entirety.
Reception
Hold Me Down received mixed reviews from music critics upon its release.Daniels 2015, p. 51 AnyDecentMusic? gave it an average score of 4.6, based on eight reviews. Daniels said even the favourable reviews "still had some stinging criticisms". Few reviewers considered it to be "too clean-cut in its production and execution ... lack[ing] the kind of rawness that punk rock strived for". Additional remarks were levied at the band for coming across as too American, while the other critics noted an evolution since their last release and complimented Franceschi's voice for maturity despite its whiny tonality.
Tim Newbound reviewed the album in Rock Sound, making comparisons with New Found Glory's self-titled album; "the album boasts a glorious sense of youthful exuberance, arguably only bettered by their US peers New Found Glory's 2000 self-titled effort... These boys are far from copycats though. There are way too many melodic rock/pop-punk bands in the world who are happy to ride on the coattails of others; throughout Hold Me Down, You Me at Six have instead pushed themselves to create a record that will delight existing fans and should rightfully attract many more". Kerrang! magazine was ok also favourable. David McLaughlin stated that "this time around You Me at Six have spiked the mix and created a cocktail so sweetly addictive that the faithful might just have to get used to sharing this band with many more". He also complimented the band's progression by adding, "It's not so much that the songs themselves that impress, but rather how much it shows this band are growing".