Speaking in December 2011, Sabre explained his reasons for titling the album 'Lonely Are The Brave': "'Lonely Are The Brave' was actually the title of an old movie that I first heard about when I was really young - around 12 or 13 - and I actually thought the feeling captured in that one phrase was amazing, because I feel everybody at some point in their lives needs to be brave to get through loneliness. And, because I thought it also summed up a lotta the emotion behind this album - particularly in terms of where I was at when I was writing a lotta the songs - I just felt as a title it fitted the project really well."
Critical reception
gave the album 4 stars out of 5 stars - "But while his voice may sound part-Amy Winehouse, part-Daniel Merriweather, few could accuse him of leaning on others for his debut album. Drawing on his childhood, which started in Hackney and continued in Ireland, his first collection of self-penned tracks is both brutally opinionated and unnervingly honest. "I need sunshine/ I need angels/ I need something good," he mourns on lead cut 'I Need', conjuring up images of crumbling concrete tower blocks in today's "Broken Britain"."
Singles
"Let Me Go" was first released in the United Kingdom on 22 July 2011 as the lead single from Lonely Are the Brave. It debuted at number sixteen on the UK chart, marking Sabre's second top forty single after "Jungle"; which peaked at number thirty-one. The song also peaked at number thirty-eight on the Irish chart and number twenty-seven on the Scottish chart. The track was succeeded by "I Need", first released as the second single from Lonely Are the Brave on November 4, 2011. "I Need" debuted at number eighteen on the UK chart, Sabre's second consecutive release to achieve this feat, also peaking at number thirty-two on the Irish chart and number twenty-four on the Scottish chart - higher than the peak of the previous release. A third single, "No One", was released in the UK on 5 February 2012 to coincide with the album release. The single failed to chart in Ireland and Scotland, despite debuting at number fifty on the UK chart. A fourth single, "I Used To Have It All", was released in the UK on 30 April 2012. The fifth single "These Days" was released on 2 July 2012.
