that have already been calling". Dead Press! writer Michael Heath felt that the band "returned with a more widely appreciated tone", scaling back the "dark sinister nature" of the previous album. He said it was "arena style music for a band with arena sized expectations and this is the best album they could have released to take them to where they want to be". The Guardian critic Caroline Sullivan wrote that the tracks "aren't subtle or overly innovative, but they hit their target", as the album was "consistently tuneful, yet also pile-driving and monolithic" MusicRadar's David Hands shared a similar sentiment, stating that the "yearning melodies make these songs feel instantly familiar and the personal emotion resonates". AllMusic reviewer Scott Kerr despite the three years between albums, Cavalier Youth does not "show much appetite to push the boundaries" of their sound. He added it was "unsurprising that this album is filled to the brim of arena-sized singalong choruses [...] but unfortunately, they sound all too familiar". Sputnikmusic staff writer DaveyBoy said apart from the opening three songs, the rest of the album was "very much a mixed bag, failing to hit the target more often than it succeeds". Alternative Press writer Evan Lucy said the album was "brimming with the kind of rafter-reaching rock that’s tailor made for filling Wembley Arena". He viewed this as a negative, stating that the "whole thing feels a bit sterile and focus-grouped to death". Tom Doyle of Thrash Hits referred to it as the "most blatant attempt yet from the band to grow up", seeing it as a "bit boring". The Observer subeditor Paul Mardles was highly critical, saying that the album was full of "formulaic riffs, festival-friendly choruses and timeworn sentiments", discarding it as "corporate alt-rock at its most pedestrian". Commercial performance and accolades Cavalier Youth topped the UK Albums Chart, selling 32,000 copies in the first week. Franceschi considered it "a big moment" for the band and "the start of something incredible for the [album] cycle". It ranked at number 97 on the UK year-end chart. It was certified Silver by the BPI in July 2014 and Gold in June 2018. Outside of this territory, it reached number one in Scotland, number 14 in Australia, number 23 in Sweden, number 27 in Ireland, number 75 in Switzerland, number 85 in Germany and number 105 in the Flanders region of Belgium. In the