The Subways are one of my all-time favourite bands — which probably shows, since they’re also the band I’ve reviewed most often for Joyzine: two live reviews, an album review and a single review so far. So it’s no surprise I jumped at the chance to review their latest release, When I’m With You — a 20th anniversary celebration that brings together their best songs from across all five studio albums, along with two brand new tracks. At a generous 24 tracks, it’s a testament to just how much energy, heart and brilliance this band have brought to the British rock scene over two decades.
Formed in 2002 in Welwyn Garden City, The Subways — Billy Lunn (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Cooper (bass, vocals) and now Camille Phillips (drums, replacing founding member Josh Morgan in 2020) — have always been a band that wear their hearts on their sleeves. From the raw, youthful rush of their debut Young for Eternity to the introspective and expansive sound of Uncertain Joys (2023), their music has consistently captured both the chaos and catharsis of life, love and growing up.
Vocalist and guitarist Billy Lunn sums up this milestone perfectly:
“Reaching 20 years in itself is really special for us… we’ve been doing what we love so deeply for such a long time. But the true test of the joy we’ve been lucky enough to experience is the friends we’ve acquired along the way… We’d be nothing without our fans, and we love that The Subways’ songs are theirs as much as ours.”
Charlotte adds:
“We’ve been on this wild ride for 20 years now… I’ve loved it all, from the small sweaty gigs to the big festival stages. Creating albums I’m hugely proud of. Making lasting friendships. We are eternally grateful and we are the luckiest people. See you down the front!”
For me personally, my love affair with The Subways began with their debut album Young For Eternity. Who could resist? Five tracks from that record appear here, including ‘Oh Yeah’, ‘Mary’, ‘With You’, the beautiful but still rocking ‘I Want to Hear What You Have Got to Say’, and of course, their most iconic anthem ‘Rock & Roll Queen’.
I still remember the first time I tried to see them live — I had tickets for their Colchester show years ago, but only managed to catch one song before having to leave to catch the last train home! It wasn’t until 2023, when I heard their single ‘Black Wax’ (also featured here — a song that’s pure love letter to music itself), that my passion for the band reignited. I finally saw them live in both 2023 and 2024 — the full sets this time — and that’s when The Subways cemented themselves as one of my absolute favourites.
In my review of their Scala show, I wrote:
“The Subways are such a good live band because of their clear love for the fans and the music. After almost every song, Billy was beaming and expressing his gratitude, and Charlotte never stopped moving around the stage in a blur. Their energy is contagious — the music is great on record, but turned up to 11 in sound and awesomeness live.”
That same energy runs through When I’m With You. Even though it’s a retrospective, every track sounds as fresh and vital as ever. There’s the youthful punk rush from Young for Eternity, the anthemic punch from All or Nothing, the tongue-in-cheek pop edge from Money and Celebrity, and the introspection of their self-titled fourth album and Uncertain Joys. ‘We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time’ still sounds like the life-affirming indie party it was in 2011, and I’m thrilled they included ‘Uncertain Joys’, one of my personal favourites from their most recent record — it still gets stuck in my head years later.
The two new songs, ‘Passenger’s Side’ and ‘I Need You To Feel Closer’, show that The Subways are far from running on nostalgia. The latter, written about grief and heartbreak, feels especially powerful — a reminder that even as their sound evolves, that emotional honesty remains their core.
Listening to When I’m With You feels like revisiting old friends — the kind you’ve grown up with, drifted from, and then rediscovered, realising the connection was never lost. It’s full of memories, emotion, energy and heart — everything The Subways have always stood for. Whether you’ve been with them since ‘Rock & Roll Queen’ or you’re just discovering them now, this album is a celebration of one of the UK’s most consistently joyful and hard-working rock bands.
Here’s to the next 20 years — and to great times still to come.
The Subways are also embarking on a tour to support the release and you can find the dates on their official website here
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Review by Hayley Foster da Silva
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