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To say that The Subways' second album has had a difficult gestation period would be understating it somewhat. Three years in the making, the recording was interrupted when lead singer Billy Lunn was forced to undergo surgery for nodes on his vocal chords - potentially meaning he may never speak again, never mind sing.
Just as Lunn was recovering from the successful surgery, he then split up with fiancee Charlotte Cooper - the bassist in the band whose chemistry with Lunn makes them such an enthralling live prospect. Lesser bands may have thrown in the towel, but thankfully All Or Nothing is the sound of a reborn group - with Charlotte still intact - and drawing on those experiences to make a terrific album.
Whereas Young For Eternity was the sound of a band in love with being young, All Or Nothing is that very same band after the knocks of life have taken their toll. As such, it's a much better album than the sporadically brilliant but patchy debut. It's a similar musical development to that of Ash circa Nu-Clear Sounds but crucially, Billy Lunn hasn't forgotten how to write an irresistibly catchy tune.
The presence of Butch Vig is also crucial here - guitars crunch and drums crash through the heavier numbers such as Kalifornia and Girls & Boys, while the choruses of Alright or Shake! Shake! could bring blinding light into the shadiest of rooms. At times it's reminiscent of his work with Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins - yes, that's good.
Inevitably, the shadow of Billy & Charlotte's relationship break-up looms over the album. The title track features Lunn wistfully recalling that "those days are dead and gone, in time we move on", Move To Newlyn is a gorgeous acoustic strum about moving to another town to escape all of your troubles, and Obsession has the poignant, bittersweet line "I could travel ten thousand miles so I could escape your smile" which perfectly sums up the aftermath of a relationship break-up.
They all pale though besides I Won't Let You Down, which fairly tears your heart out with its raw emotion - lines such as "You said there's nothing else for you to do but hate me, I scream and shout, I'm lost for words" leaving you in no doubt that it's one of the most personal songs on the album.
Yet it's not depressing or morose in the slightest. In fact, the defining line of the whole album can be found in Kalifornia, where Lunn bellows "I will never be deafeated" (judging by the amount of full-throated screams from Lunn on this record, he's not worried about a reoccurrence of the vocal chord nodes). There's a celebratory aspect to Turnaround, while Always Tomorrow positively brims with youthful optimism.
The album also highlights Lunn's evolution as a songwriter - the lovely Strawberry Blonde is one of the most affecting moments here, enhanced as many tracks here are, by Charlotte's beautifully winsome backing vocals. The solo acoustic closer of Lostboy is totally different to anything the band have done before - an intriguing nod as to where the trio could be going in future.
With all that The Subways have been through in the past couple of years, the fact that All Or Nothing has even been released is a testament to their strength of character. The fact that they've managed to record an album so strong, consistent and downright impressive is proof positive that, after much promise, The Subways have come of age.
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