Young for Eternity

by

The Subways

Edit

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I first heard the Subways on the O.C. on Fox. I wasn't quite sure what to make of them and since I can't stand the radio, the only way I could really find out if I liked the album was to buy it (I don't P2P and samples don't always give me enough information). What I discovered was that the Subways are not original, but they are very entertaining. They fit very well into a playlist with bands like the Vines (who are one of my favorite bands) and The Von Bonies (certain songs on Pawn Shoppe Heart). Good pop mentality from the band without the trappings of a specific style like garage, punk, or alternative. They skirt the line well and I enjoy it.

The next band to cross the pond in hopes of American dominance is The Subways. And much like the original British Invasion, it seems like the band is going after the teenage girl demographic but instead of making their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show like the Beatles did in the sixties, in the new millennium The Subways instead introduced to themselves stateside to young girls everywhere via the soundtrack to The O.C. with the indie rocker Rock & Roll Queen. The band screamed and turned the guitars up and overpowered the other mope rock that has populating other bands on the soundtrack.

Now the band has finally released the first album on this side of the pond, Youth for Eternity. With the thrashing Rock & Roll, it's odd to here the album start with a folksy touch with the song I Want to Hear What You Got to Say, but the song quickly starts bouncing around sounding very similar to the Queens of the Stoned Age's No One Knows. The same bouncy cadence shows up again later on the album with Oh Yeah. The band quickly picks it up with the next song, Holiday with an opening riff that sounds very similar to Green Day's American Idiot. Um, is anyone noticing a trend?

Even though each song has a very distinctive style ranging from folk, to garage rock, to punk, each song sounds like it's been done before. Mary and Lines of Light even sound something Oasis might have done in the early years. In fact the band almost sounds as if the dude from Franz Ferdinand joined the White Stripes (The Subways are a band with two guys and a girl, no word if there was a pizza place involved), not that it would be a bad thing. And they even let the chick take over the vocals on a few verses and occasionally add a few soft harmonies giving the songs an extra boost. Youth for Eternity may not be the album that breaks The Subways, but that breakout success may only be an album or two away.