After an eight year long hiatus, indie-punk moguls The Subways are back, minus one member, original drummer Josh Morgan, who stepped away in 2020. Frontman Billy Lunn’s had quite the adventure in that time; from flexing his mental muscles and acquiring an English degree at the ever esteemed Cambridge University, to exploring his sexuality, coming to terms with his borderline personality disorder and expanding on his musical prowess via breaking away from the confines of traditional punk rock sets ups through the use of synthesisers. You can say it’s been a busy few years, and Uncertain Joys’ themes reflect just that.
On a basic level, the album is pretty much split into two sections: love and war. The first track ‘You Kill My Cool’ really reflects that, bursting in with a tension building march featuring their brand new toy, synthesisers, that comes to an extremely quick climax before launching into a bright, punchy riff, paired with smashing drums and potent bass which one may say is classically ‘The Subways’. We then sink our teeth into the real flesh and bones of the song, which, to put it bluntly, is about climaxing. Sexy themes follow suit, with cheery, optimistic synth driven and infectiously poppy ‘Love Waiting On You’ touching on the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” proverb, albeit through slightly masochistic lyrics like “why does it taste so sweet when you’re unkind?”.
The titular track takes its name from the line “with flattering prospects of uncertain joy” in Sarah Dixon’s poem ‘To Stephon’, and juxtaposes a bittersweet tale of learning to let go of toxic romantic behaviours and someone you loved with twinkly, 80’s shimmy-inducing instrumentals and soft, reverb-soaked vocals from bassist Charlotte Cooper. On the track, Billy said he wanted to write something that reflects the scope of his love for music, citing Madonna and Blondie as one of the many influences. Mission success, Billy. This track beautifully reeks of those artists’ golden days. ‘Uncertain Joys’ and sunshine are going to be a match made in heaven.
The alluring theme picks back up on ‘Incantation’ with Billy baring his bisexuality, calling out for a man he fancies to cast a “hex” on him through a seductive groove and a tasty light fry scream finaliser. Succeeding is ‘Black Wax’, an ode to Billy’s perpetual romance with music, brimming with pure rock ‘n’ roll energy, and you’ll never guess what it was recorded with. A guitar made from reclaimed wood taken from the bar of the first venue they ever played. Nothing screams punk like a DIY guitar made from once sticky, beer-ridden bar material.
The production on this album is stellar throughout (no thanks to it being mixed by Adrian Bushby and mastered by Kate Tavini), but it stood out especially so in this song through the exceptionally clean vocal panning. ‘Lavender Amelie’ is a more stripped down track that sees them return to peppy synths, but will have you double taking, thinking “is this R.E.M?”. The acoustic guitar tone and vocals are uncannily alike. This track is a touch autotune heavier than it needs to be, but is still well executed, and acts as a welcomed interlude between the album’s thematic switch up.
“An impassioned reminder to fight fire with fire.”
Love is over, war is here. Punk fans unite and feel the fury in anthemic ‘Fight’, slathered with anti-oppressive, uniting notions and political rage. The song encourages listeners to stand up for their beliefs, to “take a knee” and to “say each and every name of those who could not breathe”, a nod to those like George Floyd and many others who lost their lives at the hands of grotesque acts of racism, sparking the BLM riots of 2020. An impassioned reminder to fight fire with fire. The next song ‘Internet Killed The Rockstar’ directs its anger at internet culture’s vapid, inherently anti-creative way of prioritising engagement stats, egos and marketing tactics over the authenticity of the art they’re promoting on social media. It’s aptly followed by satirical ‘Swanky Al’, a ridiculing lead singer stereotyping tune, which heavily hints (if literally name dropping Matt Healy can even be excused as a hint) at what rockstars they were talking about in the previous song. Oh to be a fly on the wall for the moment someone shows Matt Healy this – it would only probably further fuel his ego, to be honest.
Whilst commendable thematically, with the rockabilly-esque song zeroing in on encouraging men to take responsibility in denying patriarchal ideas themselves instead of relying on women to fix them, there’s a slight lilt here that leaves one being unable to shake hearing Jack Black in ‘The Devil and Me’. If the press release had stated he was a musical contributor on the track, it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise. If rockabilly isn’t your bag, don’t cower at the first hurdle, keep listening – there’s an interesting selection of instrumentals here, with violins and even an xylophone making a debut, and some fun distortion effects aiding the devils depiction, which brings the song back up as it progresses. ‘Joli Couer’, translating to “sweetheart” in French, plucks the heartstrings. Delicate and emotive; if you’ve ever lost a loved one, you’ll feel this sweet one deep in your soul.
Uncertain Joys comes to a close with ‘Futures’, which, technically, a seven minute long track, but structurally, three separate songs moulded together. The three sections symbolise Billy’s onerous mental health journey following his BPD diagnosis. Part one swoops in with a nineties brit-pop swagger, part two descends into an airy, dreamy middle 8 accompanied by a final glimpse of that 80’s synth sound that’s now synonymous with the album and part three crescendos into the rockiest persuasion on the record, with Billy’s demanding vocals contrasting with Charlotte’s mellow tones, and aggressive guitar and snappy drums steamrolling through. Mental health struggles are a journey, and ‘Futures’ encapsulates that.
Deviating from your signature sound always bares risk, but The Subways pulled it off. There’s radio friendly tracks, sensual ones, partisan ones, biting ones – hell, there’s even a diss track – but throughout it all, there’s still that indie-punk ferocity that they’ve honed so well over the years. A hearty feat to pull off after hefty musical time out.