Rock & roll is the province of youth. Each generation needs new bands to call its own, preferably bands close to the audience's own age. Hence,
the Subways, a U.K. trio who won the Best Unsigned Band competition at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival and released their debut album,
Young for Eternity, the following year when they were all still in their teens (it appeared in America early in 2006). The songs are clearly the work of teenagers, scrabbling together strands of their favorite bands -- chiefly
Nirvana and
Oasis, yet there are elements of other Britpop bands like
Supergrass, along with post-grunge groups like
the Vines -- to create something that feels comfortably familiar. Teenagers in 2005 and 2006 may find this to speak directly to them simply because
the Subways are new in appearance, even if they aren't new in sound. At its best, the album serves as a reminder of the monotony of waiting to grow up. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine