Uncertain Joys, Subways, LP

After an absence of eight years, UK rock band The Subways are back with a brand new album Uncertain Joys. Recorded and produced by front man and producer in his own right Billy Lunn, it was mixed by the Grammy Award-winning Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters, Everything Everything), and mastered by Katie Tavini (Mykki Blanco, Arlo Parks, Nadine Shah). Billy (guitar and vocals) and Charlotte Cooper (bass and vocals) also had to cope with a line-up change - founding member and drummer Josh Morgan left the band in October 2020 after the studio sessions had been completed with Camille Phillips coming on board. Kicking off with the excellent riff-heavy lead single "You Kill My Cool", the album becomes very much a game of two halves. The first set of songs have a generally lighter feel while still being packed with tunes and guitars. The second half is punkier with darker subject matter tackling the state of the world today. The record finishes with "Futures", a seven minute track that is made up of three sections and is probably The Subways' most ambitious music to date. It's great to see the band still pushing their comfort zone and expanding their sound after twenty years and it's well worth checking out.