Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Review-The Subways, All Or Nothing

Since this leaked to the internet two days ago (the official release is June, 30), I think it's a good time for a review of this, in my opinion, very underrated band.
Being a fan of the good debut Young For Eternity, I awaited this anxiously but was a bit scared about the quality. Not that I always believed the so called "2nd album curse" but The Fratellis with their less than average follow up gave me reasons to be worried...
Now that I heard All Or Nothing, here's my veredict, track by track:

Girls & Boys: The lead single and opener is a great choice for those roles. Explosive and with a lot of energy. I love this one.
Kalifornia: At first the album version of this "old" song (they played this in many many shows in the past years) didn't impress me that much. Now I see a growing potential but it's still not them at their best. I think it's too melodic for The Subways, if you know what I mean. But the guitar riff is quite cool.
Alright: Another one that is very melodic but definitely better than Kalifornia. Charlotte's cute backing vocals give it an extra charm.
Shake Skake!: I really like this one. Powerful chorus and riff.
Move To Newlyn: I don't know. They did stuff like this before, but I really don't like it right now. Too cute for me...
All Or Nothing: A couple of good surprises in the middle. A good song, but nothing extraordinary.
I won't let you down: The best song of the album, together with Shake Shake! I bet it will be a single.
Turnaround: Here we're actually seeing them trying some new tricks. This is faster, more grunge rock. Like it a lot!
Obssession: This is boring. The guitar doesn't impress and the vocals are not that inspired. It gets a bit better in the end.
Strawberry Blonde: This is good to sleep and this is definitely not a compliment...
Always Tomorow: The way it changes pace from slow to fast is interesting. Nothing more.
Lostboy: This is also good to sleep. Do I need to say more?

In summary, some kick- ass songs and some that are horrible. Comparisons to their debut? It's not fair do those right now. It depends on how much the good songs of this will grow on me. But so far I would say both albums are at the same level. Yes, the "2nd album curse" often attacks (hello The Fratellis) but some bands are able to not disappoint us...

Grade: In a 0-10 scale, 7.

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