Rock the Pigeon is a huge fan of Subway Rat! We have spent lots of time listening to the amazing discography of Subway Rat, and today we wanted to shine a spotlight on his debut album “Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors.” This highly streamed 12-song LP was released on August 18th, 2023. Queens-based artist, David Polanco is the mastermind behind Subway Rat. His songwriting shares the tales and feelings of a man living in New York City.
This is my debut album and I’m really new to singing in general, so this was a huge milestone in my life. I’m incredibly proud of the songwriting and I think of each song like a journal entry about the rocky end of a special relationship. – Subway Rat
The record starts off with “Tell Me What To Do.” This experimental rock song fuses genres while giving the record a nice setup. Subway Rat sings over and over again, “Tell Me What To Do.” There is a feeling of being lost and being in need of direction throughout the song. The song’s ending becomes even more experimental and brings a feeling of chaos and tension. This song serves as a great introduction to the deep emotion that is about to unfold.
The next song on the record is “Rendezvous.” Subway Rat says it’s his favorite song on the record: “Rendezvous is definitely my favorite song on this album, and maybe I’ve ever written. It was my first composition and the recording captures my first take. It’s a happy sad love song about the reality of heartache.” The production and writing style on this song pulls from the famous NYC-band The Strokes. Subway Rat sings soulfully and softly to start this song. The song picks up towards the middle, Subway Rat’s voice becomes even more emotional. There is a feeling of romance, but also a deep feeling of longing. This is currently the most popular song on the record, tallying over 750,000 streams.
“I wrote Rendezvous in 2022 after my breakup it was springtime and I was walking around Central Park a lot, finding my voice.”
The pace continues to stay lifted on the next track, “Schoolyard Crush.” Synths and a funky bass line serve as prominent instrumentation on this track. The funky guitars bring this song to another level. Subway Rat sings about his High School sweetheart, showcasing the importance of her in his life, and how devastating the eventual breakup was. The breakup is what inspired his songwriting on this record and on his newest LP “Captain of the Football Team.” The fun synths and groovy guitar parts continue on for the next song, “Tomorrow.” This song serves as another ballad where Subway Rat confesses the depth of his love to his listeners. He sings, “I don’t think you know how much I love you.” I think anyone listening can really understand how big Subway Rat’s love is. Distorted guitars kick off “How Much Was My Fault?” which brings the record into a new direction. We still hear a strong use of synths and electronic drums. This song has a fun musical vibe to it, while the lyrics reflect on the relationship and question wrongdoings.
A funky bass line and rhythm guitar add another dimension to the record. “Espresso Martini” is a catchy song that has a feeling of darkness to it. The guitar stabs are simply contagious. Melodically, this song leans more pop than the previous songs on the record. We can hear the influence of The Strokes again on the song “Mouth 2 Mouth.” This song has an epic build to it, complete with synths and catchy lead guitar riffs that are doused in the perfect amount of distortion. “I thought you would come back to me, you are nowhere to be found.” Subway lets his heartache really show lyrically on “Mouth 2 Mouth.” He sings about feeling on the verge of death from the shock and heartbreak of the situation. Metaphorically, the song is about being saved by his ex-girlfriend with CPR and “Mouth 2 Mouth.” The next song follows this sentiment. Subway Rat expresses his shock about the downfall of the relationship. “I Guess I’m Wrong” is another great guitar and synth song where Subway Rat admits that forever does not exist.
“V Day” has distorted vocals throughout. While the lyrics are a bit hard to understand because of the heavy effects, this song still shines. Musically, this is one of the most exciting songs on the record. The lead guitar part is contagious and serves as a strong hook for the song. This song flows perfectly into “Ruby’s.” The distorted guitars continue to make a splash. Subway Rat begs for his lover to come back and go on another date with him, even saying he will share half of his fries. He continues to beg for happier times with his past lover on the next track. “Don’t Answer Me” is a song about hope for the future. Subway Rat’s high hopes show throughout this song. The lead guitars serve as another contagious hook. The feeling continues on the last track of the record. “LMK” is a slowly paced ballad with heavy electric guitars and a low bass tone.
I couldn’t have done it without my guitarist and producer Paco Lee and the incredible engineers at Lounge. I buy Paco’s beats online and bring them to Lounge Studios in Times Square where I record over them and get professional mixing and mastering services done. I usually go with the first take to keep it raw and to capture the emotion of the moment. I’m not a traditional singer and I don’t play any instruments, besides middle school trumpet, so for me it’s all about transmitting emotion.
Listen to this incredible record on Spotify now:
Written by Ryan Cassata
The post Subway Rat Explores Heartache with Distorted Guitars and Lots of Synths appeared first on ROCK THE PIGEON.