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The Subways
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Young For Eternity
Sire Records
Release: 2/14/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
Morley Seaver
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Starting off as devotees of Nirvana, Brit-pop band The
Subways have carved out their own piece of rock with their
debut album. This record was released in the U.K. last year to
great fanfare and it's easy to see why. Young For
Eternity is brimming full of riff-happy material that has
that classic British sound, following in the country's great
tradition for smoking pop/rock music.
The band is made up of two brothers, Billy Lunn and Josh
Morgan, (apparently despite the different names, they are
brothers) and a pair of fiances, Lunn and Charlotte Cooper.
Lunn does vocals and guitar, Cooper contributes bass and
vocals, and Morgan pounds the skins.
The record opens cautiously with a simple guitar and vocal, the
song ("I Want to Hear What You Have Got to Say") stands to
attention quickly with a driving rhythm and a jangling guitar.
Charlotte sings a verse that changes the vibe slightly but for
the better. The two voices work well together in the same
format.
The punk-ish fury propels "Holiday" and "Rock & Roll Queen,"
which wouldn't sound out of place on an early '70s play list. The
acoustic buoyancy of "Mary" displays how endearing Lunn's
voice is. "Lines of Light" is a haunting short and sweet cut that
wins on just how simple it is. Just bang a few chords and throw
a female voice on top and there you go.
The band alternates between these Brit-sounding songs and the
more punk-sounding American ones. That sounds like the two
wouldn't really go together, but overall the record really works.
Lunn has a great voice, the playing is punchy and attention-
getting, and the material is very strong. Not much more you
can ask for in a debut. |
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