ALBUM REVIEW: The Subways – Uncertain Joys
(Alcopop! Records/Bodan Kuma Recordings)
The Subways are an indie-rock trio from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, and Uncertain Joys is their fifth album, but their first in eight years.
It’s also their first with their new line-up following the departure of founding member Josh Morgan, with Camille Phillips taking his place on the drumstool.
The album was written and recorded during two separate periods of extended hiatus: first, when frontman Billy Lunn took three years out to go to university, and secondly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Having more time and space to experiment led Lunn to introduce synthesisers to the band’s traditional guitar-bass-drums sound, and it’s quite a different album which emerges.
Add the fact Lunn has come to terms with being bisexual, and that he’s been diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder, and this album is probably the most personal in their 20-year career.
In the past the Subways have worked with producers of the status of Ian Brodie, Butch Vig and Stephen Street, but for this record Lunn produced the album himself.
The first half is a collection of songs about love, and the opening track is lead single You Kill My Cool, about giving and taking in the bedroom.
Follow-up single Love Waiting On You sees prominent use of synths, and, says Lunn, was an attempt to write a song for Kylie Minogue, which he ended up liking too much to let it go.
Title track Uncertain Joys sees Lunn reflect on choosing to let go of his love for someone else, while Incantation, the first song which sounds like the Subways of old, addresses Lunn’s bisexuality.
Black Wax, another single, is a love letter to music itself, while Fight, the angriest song on the album, has almost rap-like delivery of lyrics, and Influencer Killed The Rock Star is driven by one of Charlotte Cooper’s best basslines.
Swanky Al is a self-mocking look at rock star behaviour, while standout track The Devil And Me, which has a great riff, looks at how patriarchal ideas can shape men from an early age.
There’s a change of pace with the acoustic Lavender Amelie, which features some subtle harmonies, and a real after-the-pandemic feel to Joli Coeur (French for sweet heart), as Lunn wanders old haunts with a sense of loss for family and friends.
Finally, the closing Futures is an epic song in three parts, which brings the two halves of the album together, and addresses Lunn’s personal struggles with mental health.
There’s enough of The Subways as we know and love them here to keep old fans happy, but enough of a new direction to attract newcomers too. It’s good to have them back. 7/10.
