The Bus

Enter UK band hyped by NME as Next Big Thing #103192-SW-205.

Long story short: Talented band in their early teens wins Best Unsigned Band contest at Glastonbury in 2004. Debut album is released in the UK in 2005 to critical and mass appeal, the band appears on an O.C. Mix Compilation later that year.

Their sound is described as "punk" or "garage" but to me it sounds more like the Gallagher brothers.

Their debut album is finally coming out in the U.S. close to a year after its release in the UK. They have some catchy yet annoyingly clichéd songs ("Rock & Roll Queen") but some stuff which also sounds very derived is really enjoyable ("Mary" and a couple of other songs are an Oasis-circa-Morning-Glory replica, "Young for Eternity" sounds like a blander horn-less version of Rocket from the Crypt).

I haven't completely made up my mind yet. Some of their songs I really like but I don't know if they're going to be super succesful here or if they'll go the way of, say, Thirteen Senses or Razorlight.

Listen to some of their stuff here. (Note: Depending on your browser, you may want to check that only one audio stream is playing --- I had two videos and a song start automatically all at the same time).


(US release is on Valentine's Day)

tofu

I like the album. Most of it ain't bad. But its nothing special or brand new.

Hiro11

I liked the Living Things debut better.

digitalfreaknyc

I just like that a thread about The Subways was started by The Bus.

Andalusia

Since they're from the UK, shouldn't they be The Tubes?

Atreus

This album came out a couple of months ago in Canada at least. I just checked on Amazon.ca and it looks like they are rereleasing it with a couple of changes in the track order but pretty much the same album.

I've heard it a couple of times and thought they were pretty good, not really my cup of tea but I have some friends who really like them.

Tracer Bullet

sub·way P Pronunciation Key (sbw)
n.
An underground urban railroad, usually operated by electricity.
A passage for such a railroad.
Chiefly British
An underground tunnel or passage, as for a water main or for pedestrians.

Andalusia

I was half-joking anyway, but I'm pretty sure they say "tube" a lot more than subway. Or is that a popular misconception we yanks have?

Tracer Bullet

Tube is used specifically for the London Underground, but subways (as in underground walkways used to get to the other side of streets) are very common, being found in most British cities.

Andalusia

Ah, I see the problem. I'm using "subway" as a catch-all term (i.e. subway car), whereas you're being very specific.