The Subways - Uncertain Joys (Alcopop! Records)
Release Date: 13th January 2023
2023 is already looking like a big year for albums so to make sure I pace myself and don't pull a muscle I thought I'd better start early and where better to start than the new LP from criminally underappreciated rock trio the Subways. 'Uncertain Joys' kicks off with former single 'You Kill My Cool' which has as big a riff as you're likely to hear this year underpinning a song bristling with urgency but soothed with sublime vocal harmonies. 'Love Waiting On You', another former single, is a more indie-pop vibe but the choppy guitars and clashing drums will keep the rock purists interested while the melodies will suit everyone with taste.
Album title track 'Uncertain Joys' veers even closer to the alt-pop boundary with a Metronomy vibe before 'Incantation' reverts to more familiar territory with a blistering riff and powerhouse drums. Another single, 'Black Wax', is the hardest edged track so far but the pre-chorus still bounces along with a pleasing indie energy that will have sweaty crowds moshing for their lives on the forthcoming tour. On 'Lavender Amelie', things take a turn for the acoustic as Billy Lunn shows off his songwriting skills with a song that sounds like it could have come from John Power at the peak of his power.
'Fight' finds the trio taking on a punk persona with furious guitars, drums and bass jostling for space like drunks in the taxi queue. On 'Influencer Killed The Rock Star', the Subways attack the rise of social media professionals with both barrels and anything else they can get their hands on (quite rightly too). I had to wait until I heard the lyrics before confirming that this next track is called 'Swanky Al' rather than being about a swish Artificial Intelligence but, whatever the subject matter, the tune swaggers and leers with a late 90s energy that you just have to love.
'The Devil In Me' has a theatrical vibe to it like Scrooge brought forward in to the rock'n'roll era to guest on a Queens of the Stone Age song and I'm here for that energy all day long. The intensity keeps going on 'Joli Couer' but with the kind of melodies that you'd normally expect to hear from the likes of Feeder. The album climaxes with the seven minute opus that is 'Futures', a track that walks the line between ferocity and calm without falling off the tight rope. Rock'n'roll, riffs, energy, lyrics you can really sink your teeth in to and melodies as far as the eye can see - what else could you possibly want from the first album review of the year? Excellent stuff.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/thesubways
Live Dates:
11th-13th January - Album Launch Shows @ Paper Dress Vintage, London
19th January - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
20th January - The Rockin' Chair, Wrexham
21st January - Black Prince, Northampton
26th January - Gorilla, Manchester
27th January - Sugarmill, Stoke
28th January - Independent, Sunderland
29th January - King Tut's, Glasgow
1st February - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
2nd February - Scala, London
3rd February - Chalk, Brighton
4th February - Mash, Cambridge
19th March - Rotown, Rotterdam
22nd March - Kwadrat, Krakow
23rd March - Hybrydy, Warsaw
25th March - Fleda, Brno
26th March - Lucerna Music Bar, Prague
27th March - Durer Kert, Budapest
29th March - Flex, Vienna
30th March - MMC, Bratislava
31st March - Conrad Sohm, Dornbirn
1st April - Legend Club, Milan
2nd April - New Age, Treviso
5th April - Muhle Hunziken, Rubigen
6th April - Kammgarn, Schaffhausen
24th June - Match Borner Open Air Festival
6th August - Bridling Spa w/the Enemy
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