“and now it’s always raining / you’re the one to blame”
Well, as a friend of mine would say, the Subways already had one strike against them because their two-word name starts with “the” and ends with a plural noun. On the other hand, they have a really hot bass player and a stack of great reviews from England. And then their new release, Young for Eternity, starts off with a pretty decent song, “I Want to Hear What You’ve Got to Say”—vibrant, catchy, and fresh. My hope for the band is renewed.
Then it all falls apart.
Apparently the band used up any talent on that first song. On the rest of Eternity, they immediately fall into a Strokes–Vines–Hives frame and I start to get bored. Reaching back into the past—or the near-past—for a sound is fine; recycling a sound and adapting it to modern needs is one thing, but outright cloning is another.
“Rock and Roll Queen” is tired, overdone, and familiar. See if you can guess the melody from these words in the chorus: “Be my, be my, be my little rock and roll queen.” If you had trouble, pause slightly at the commas and sneer while you sing. I heard this when Joan Jett did it twenty years ago.
The rest of the band’s songs follow a similar pattern—retreading old ground. Badly. Add in some Oasis, Verve, and Blondie, (and of course the obligatory ballad), and you get the idea.
When I listen to bands, I listen for two things: Does the music make me feel? and does it sound the least bit original or fresh? Guess what I thought about the new Subways disc?
Young for Eternity gets old fast.