Take a ride with The Subways

It's always hard to be the 'next big thing.' Every year, it seems like the music press places that honor on at least half a dozen young bands. Out of those six, usually all but one fail to live up to the lofty expectations placed before them. The newest phenomenon slotted into this role is the British indie rock group The Subways. Their debut album, Young for Eternity, topped out at No. 32 on the British music charts. They've already landed two of their songs on "The OC." But can they really be the 'next big thing,' or are they destined for the dustbin of obscurity?\nThe Subways really succeed when creating short sonic bursts of songs. Nine tracks clock in at less than three minutes long. The band's youthful energy helps propel these teenage anthems into the part of your brain where songs get stuck for days. While the lyrics are amateur at best half of the time, the call and response between guitarist Billy Lunn and bassist Charlotte Cooper and the foot-stomping drums of Josh Morgan more than make up for it. When all three are at their best, they create fun pop music. When the tempo slows down, however, the band begins to suffer.\nThe young members in the trio wear their influences on their sleeves, the most obvious being the alt-rock legends, The Pixies. The Subways jump from genre to genre like hyperactive fans. "I Want to Hear What You Have Got to Say" starts the album off with a Pixie-ish bang. The title track channels Nirvana better than most bands' attempts. "Oh Yeah" could finally be the long-awaited sequel to Blur's "Song 2." These mimicries don't come off as insincere, but merely as homages to the songs the band loves. \nWhile this is not a bad concept per se, it does hurt a group as a whole. The Subways' rapid-fire musical changes make them a perfect singles band. However, this leaves the album rather disjointed. Some songs come off as obvious fillers, which is dangerous for an album that's barely 35 minutes long. Either The Subways have to focus on their punchy punk side, or they have to spend more time perfecting their mid-tempo songs.\nWe may not know whether or not The Subways will exceed the high standards set for them now. These proclaimed 'next big things' have a lot to accomplish if they want to fulfill their label. Their debut certainly has the potential.