Good rock music rocks out, and good rock music can have quieter moments. But truly great music knows how to balance the two elements into a cohesive whole. Enter Young For Eternity, The Subways’ debut album which perfectly mixes its rock-at-all-costs soul with its softer heart. Released in 2005, Young For Eternity won critical and audience acclaim, but fans have had a long wait for the follow-up.
Coming three years later, All Or Nothing will see The Subways look to capture the runaway success of Young For Eternity, and FasterLouder spoke with frontman Billy Lunn about the new album, working with Butch Vig, and the medical condition which nearly saw the Subways disband altogether.
After the release of an album, most bands will tour for a while, but the Subways took that a step further, touring for nearly two years. “Yeah, we went a lot longer than other bands. We went to America and toured with Taking Back Sunday, and played the Big Day Out there in Australia, we travelled quite a lot.”
Towards the end of 2006, Lunn was having throat problems, which was affecting the band’s hectic touring schedule. “We were having to cancel shows, which is the worst thing you can possibly do. You know as you’re leaving that everyone’s lined up outside, and they’re not going to get their fix, and neither are you.” He saw a doctor, who advised it was nodules on the vocal chords, but after two months of exercises, a second opinion revealed it was actually polyps, a much more serious condition which required surgery to his vocal chords. Not surprisingly, this pushed their follow-up album back a little.
“I had the surgery in January 2007, I couldn’t speak for a few weeks, and I couldn’t sing for about two months,” he says. “It took a while to get back into singing again. But at the same time, it makes this new album sort of a rebirth for us. We’ve spent ages perfecting all the songs for the new album, so in the end, I think it’s worth it.”
Most record companies would have been raising an eyebrow at the three year mark, but Lunn reports Warner Brothers were completely understanding of the situation. “They were so supportive – it was great. We’d already played them a bunch of demos which we had been writing on tour, and showing them to our manager, and they were pretty confident in us, so they told us to take our time. I really can’t thank them enough; their support was just incredible. And at the same time, we want to be a band that evolves over time. We’re not going to rush into anything we do.”
So, with a long time to craft the vision for All Or Nothing, how does it compare to Young For Eternity? “I think it’s more thoughtful, but also more energetic. It’s a lot heavier also – these are songs written on tour in soundchecks, so they have a real live frenetic exuberance about them. As the touring went on, we played bigger and crazier and crazier shows; I think organically we just became a bigger band.”
Young For Eternity also contained some quieter numbers, and I wanted to know if the new album would contain some similar numbers? “Absolutely. I’m a sucker for a good acoustic track. We try to do as many things as we can, we don’t want to just stick to the things we know. There’s a song on the album, called Lost Boys, which I wrote for just me and a cello. And Josh [Morgan] and Charlotte [Cooper] were nice enough to let me stick it on the album. You know you’re onto something new when you’re scared.”
The Subways have had the benefit of super producer Butch Vig for their new album, and Lunn’s earlier praise for his record label is topped only by his praise for his producer. “He’s a genius – creatively, musically, on every level. But the best thing is that we meshed on a really personal level too. I don’t think we could have asked for anyone better. We’re the first UK band he’s ever worked with, so I think he prepared himself mentally for our temperament. After all, we’re a bit strange. In fact,” says Lunn, going off on a tangent, “I think all trio bands are weirder than other bands. There’s definitely something different about trio bands.”
And Vig also contributed a lot to the songs on the album. “Recording was the most fun we’ve ever had in the studio. Vig would spend three or four hours getting the best sound, and then we’d just come in, and get it in two takes. It was just perfect.
“I had one song which I wanted to have as an interlude in the middle of the album. It was called Strawberry Blonde, and I wrote it in the studio, which I’ve never ever done before. So I played it for him, and he said ‘That’s not an interlude – that’s a song. Go and work on it some more.’ So I wrote some more, and Charlotte wrote the best bassline I’ve ever heard, and we brought it back to Butch, and said, ‘That’s the best song you’ve ever written.’”
The Subways will make a triumphant return to the Glastonbury festival this year, after getting a big break in 2004, when they won an unsigned band competition and played at the early stages in the festival. “Yeah, we’re really looking forward to it. We’re on the Pyramid Stage, which is the biggest stage. I’m really nervous – I can’t wait. Winning that competition was such a big break for us, so we love playing there.”
Glastonbury festival organisers have courted controversy this year by signing Jay-Z to headline, but Lunn thinks it’s really just par for the course. “It’s not a big deal to us, as long as the audience is there to play to. Glastonbury has always been about eclecticism anyway, and the line up this year is really strange. It’s always been renowned for strange headline acts.”
The Subways will spend the next couple of months playing lots and lots of festivals in Europe, and Lunn reports he loves the festival vibe. “Festivals are just a chance to be appreciative of music. In your house show, it’s all about you, but when you play a festival, everyone’s there to just feel the music and you can see it in the air. We get a chance to see bands we’ve been looking forward to seeing and meeting, and we’ll go out front to get the feel of it. A festival is like a two month holiday for us.”
And Lunn reports Australian fans shouldn’t have long to wait for another Subways tour. “It’s either going to be September/October, or possibly in January. We’re definitely going to be coming over, doing at least 12 shows. We love coming to Australia, we’ve been over individually four or five times. Any chance we get, we jump on it. We love it.”
