Young, loud and snotty The Subways - Young For Eternity (Sire Records) 3 1/2 stars (out of 5 stars) Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2006

Review by Tony Bonyata

For a band just releasing their full-length debut album this week, the London-based trio The Subways are proving to be anything but underground. Their live shows have been heavily hyped in the U.K. press over the last six months and the initial response to their new disc is overwhelming. So when the buzz starts hitting a fever pitch like this, it's only natural to become suspicious of all the hyperbole.
With skeptic's antennae up high, I popped The Subways' Young For Eternity in and, at first, found the ferocity and snarl of their scrappy garage-punk rudimentary and familiar. But with each passing spin I found the base, animal instinct more alluring than the previous, until finally this young, brash band had won me over as well.
From the steamrolling rhythms and delinquent scowls of songs such as the album's title track, "Holiday" and their first single "Rock & Roll Queen," the latter which is filled with prototypical 21st century garage rock along with a big, dumb rock & roll hook that's near impossible to shake, to the sticky pop of "Mary" and lilting beauty of the acoustically kissed balladry of "Lines of Light" this threesome displays a broader scope to their music than most upstart bands who are content to just learn three chords, swing open the garage door and head for the road. In fact, the closing track "Somewhere" seems to embody the breadth of their work into one gorgeous number - interchanging a bombastic, grungy guitar riff with singer / vocalist Billy Lunn's haunting ethereal vocals, before the song erupts into an unadulterated, angst-filled power-pop anthem. Even when bassist Charlotte Cooper chimes in with her jerky call-and-response vocals on "City Pavement" it adds a google-eyed innocence to the ensuing mayhem.
Young, loud and snotty is no way to go through life - but for The Subways it sure feels right... right now.