The Subways

Emerging as part of the mid-2000s UK rock revival, The Subways favor melodic punk-pop with brash riffs and heart-on-sleeve lyrics. Vocalist/guitarist Billy Lunn, his drummer brother Josh Morgan, and vocalist/bassist Charlotte Cooper formed the band in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England. Inspired initially by punk bands such as Green Day and Nirvana, the trio started playing gigs and earned their first big break after being picked to play the Glastonbury Festival as an unsigned artist. A record deal followed soon after, leading to their 2005 debut, Young for Eternity, which was produced by The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie and featured the chugging single “Rock & Roll Queen.” The Subways exhibited an even tougher, harder-edged sound on the Butch Vig-produced 2008 album All or Nothing, but they have branched out into more nuanced territory since. Working with Stephen Street, they took cues from Britpop and post-punk on the 2011 release Money and Celebrity, while 2023’s Uncertain Joy—the first album with new drummer Camille Phillips, Morgan having left The Subways in 2020—boasted more prominent synthesizers.