A forgotten gem: why Professor Murder Rides the Subway still hits hard

While digitizing an old CD collection, a music writer stumbled back onto a forgotten favorite: New York band Professor Murder's EP "Rides the Subway." The reviewer describes it as one of the sharpest examples of mid-2000s dance-punk, released during an era when New York's indie scene seemed obsessed with getting people to dance and let loose.

A scene remembered

The biggest names of that dance-punk revival were LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture, but plenty of other acts orbited the same world, including Rahim, Liars, Dan Deacon, and numerous lesser-known bands tied to the DFA label, many of whom played regular shows around New York City. The writer recalls spending considerable time at those venues, dancing along to the music.

Sound and style

Professor Murder's sound combines cheap synth blasts, shouted vocal chants, busy syncopated percussion, and a throbbing bass line that, according to the reviewer, perfectly captures New York's music scene circa 2006. The EP's tracks are built on a simple disco stomp, dressed up with cowbell and other tuned percussion, but the groove is never disrupted. Unlike contemporaries such as LCD Soundsystem, who leaned toward bigger, more melodic arrangements, Professor Murder favored stripped-back structures where the drums effectively act as the lead instrument.

Standout tracks

The reviewer singles out the EP's opening and closing tracks, "Champion" and "Free Stress Test," as close to the ideal of 2000s dance-punk. In a fairer world, he argues, "Free Stress Test" could have pushed the band to the same level of success as The Rapture. The EP remains available on Bandcamp as well as major streaming services including Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Qobuz.