The Subways - All Or Nothing (Warners)
3/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
BUY DOWNLOADI'll be thrown out of town for loving this record, I'll be chastised and never invited to the Rockfeedback Christmas party again (and where else do you have the chance of snogging under the mistletoe while Tom Waits trills in the milieu), but y'know what, this is a good record that I've loved listening to.
But why exactly? After all, it's not got the valour of the band's debut (which was almost four years ago now). It's not got that same sense of honest anticipation, like this band is starting a movement. Nor does it have the big songs; the 'Rock N Roll Queen' or the '1AM' that scorch the stage live.
The reason for that is that it's come off'a the back of years of touring and though the tracks work very well on stage, 'Shake, Shake' for example being a blistering mosh instigator, they're not album fodder. 'Kalifornia' and 'Alright' are brilliant rock songs made with an American audience in mind, if indirectly, but not even they quite capture on tape their energy or emergency which I know them to have live.
Having spent so long away from the recording studio it's no surprise they've lost some spark, but that's not to say there are no songs here. 'Lostboy' is the albums 'Mary', a tender and sweet little ballad about being saved and elsewhere 'Girls and Boys' shows they've moved on as songwriters, not that they're more mature just that they've picked up a few tricks on the road - like how to use three people to make more noise than Arcade Fire, something we like to call 'the Muse offensive'. This track opens the album and is probably the best few minutes on there. Just brilliant.
There are moments of bubblegum punk as well, and of course segments of roasting rock and roll, QOTSA style, but when it comes to it you have to ask if it's been worth the wait - and the answer isn't a straight forward yes. This band will always have a great live following, like The Hives, they don't need massive record sales, just enough new songs to keep the punters coming. And in that respect, the album is a hit. It's like a refill for those already on the dancefloor. Enough magic to satisfy? Just about.
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