Review by :
Sounds XP - Paul Mawdesley

You half expect the Subways to dump their satchels at the side of the stage as they mount it, they’re so damn young. But don’t misread their youth and relative inexperience for a lack of talent. Surely this must be the finest short trousered performance since a spotty chinned Ludwig Van B scorched a phat one upstairs at the Hund Und Duckt in 1784.

Playing quite possibly their biggest headlining set to date, they stretch their usual half hour slot out to a very comfortable forty five minutes with a few new numbers. However there’s certainly no loss of quality and in the four months since I last saw them, there’s plenty of evidence that the seed of promise witnessed then is bearing fruit now.

There’s certainly more confidence as front man Billy strides around the stage, adopting all the familiar rock poses with flailing hair, and engaging in minor flirting with bassist Mary-Charlotte.

Both the superb single 1am and its b-sides are aired and there are plenty more gems in their bluesed up set. There are musical elements of the White Stripes, though possibly more credit is due to the Vines, with their fusing of Nirvana like grungy rawk with the odd melodic Beatles moment. Their opener features a great boy/girl call and response section with the line “Have you ever seen the light?”. I can now answer, “Yes, I have”, and I can think of no better way of avoiding the Darkness than this Welwyn Garden City three piece.