All or Nothing

The breath-keeping start of the British rockers The Subways

This English post-punk trio is on stage for a long time - however, taking in consideration the fact that The Subways released the sophomore attempt, all the members are young - the oldest one, guitarist and vocalist Billy Lunn, is only twenty-three. Beside him, the band featured charming bassist and singer Charlotte Cooper and drummer Josh Morgan. They began with playing their favorite covers for Nirvana and later started writing their own songs. Unluckily, the talented teenagers did not have money for recoding their tracks at the professional studio, and they bought the cheap recording system at home. The Subways also designed their site themselves and began putting their songs in the Internet. However, their star moment was when Michael Eavis, who is the runner of Glastonbury, chose their demo, sent for the indie-performers competition, as the winning one. Thus, the musicians received the brilliant opportunity to play at the most prestigious rock festival in the United Kingdom. After this, the career of The Subways saw a decisive take-off. After several tours, they recorded the debut Young For Eternity with the hit song Oh Yeah. In June 2007, the artists got down to their second album All Or Nothing. Butch Vig, known for his work with Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and other rock stars, produced this wonderful long-play.

The more mature disc with the harder sound

Listening to All Or Nothing, one is sure to notice the heavier sound of The Subways - thanks to Butch Vig. Not only the arrangement, but also the material of the album became harder. Definitely, Billy Lunn grew up as the lyricist - he abandoned the songs about big and bright love for Charlotte in order to sing about things that are more serious: society and his view on it; break ups in relations and finding new love. A wider range of the topics was a favorable decision for the All Or Nothing disc without any doubt. Singing in a beautiful duet Billy and Charlotte open the full-length with the garage composition Girls&Boys, devoted to the relations between sexes. The song has an unforgettable bass riff. It is positively the hardest sounding thing on the album, but it does not influence its poppy tune and catchiness. The titling track All Or Nothing tells about the parting between Lunn and Cooper. The tension in this song becomes even more understandable after one considers the fact that the musicians were inseparable since childhood. The same painful theme is disclosed on the charming, but extremely bitter melody Obsession. Such gorgeous alt-tracks as Strawberry Blonde with the use of the cellos and acoustic Lostboy are devoted to the new girlfriend of Billy. The Subways also grew up as the artists. The winding rock melody Shake! Shake! is radiant with energy no one can ignore, while the single Alright with the allusion for the Vanilla Sky film will amuse the listeners with the refreshing one-word chorus and give a charge of optimism for the whole day.

The testaments of The Subways

Someone could be questioned by the fact that three years passed between the debut release of the young rockers and All Or Nothing. Well, the record took place in two sessions between constant touring, including the North America concerts. During this time, the musicians saw a number of testaments for the unity of their collective. In February 2008, during the session, Bill and Charlotte parted ways. However, they stated that this break up would not affect the band. Moreover, Billy said that they both have already found new partners. The end of the relations of these long-time pair was not the only trial for The Subways during the work over the disc - soloist Billy Lunn could lose his voice totally due to the problems with vocal cords. The whole idea of the album, as well as the existence of The Subways, was under a big question. Luckily, Lunn recovered after a surgery, while the disc got its daring title - All Or Nothing. Such name defines the story of The Subways with the brilliant preciseness. Due to constant touring, all The Subways members grew up as musicians - especially bassist and vocalist Charlotte Cooper. The Disc All Or Nothing is fulfilled with much more energy and liveliness than its predecessor. The harder sound brought in more fascination to it. To summarize it all, by the moment of All Or Nothing release, The Subways did not make a mere step up - they demonstrated a giant leap.