Subway Rat made a splash with his sophomore album, Captain of the Football Team, let’s take a dive into his career by seeing where it all started. His debut album, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, released in summer 2023, has already amassed over 1 million streams across platforms. It’s clear that Subway Rat’s fast success is due to his signature style and real passion for music. He has his own indie label, Rat Tooth Records, where he releases his projects.
This debut album is where Subway Rat was first inspired. His first single, “Rendezvous” comes from a college breakup. He was able to turn that heartache into something bigger than himself. Subway Rat really allowed songwriting to be something healing, writing over 100 songs with producer Paco Lee. On “Rendezvous” he sings about wanting his love to come over for something a little less serious. “Why won’t you call my phone? / you make me feel like home,” he sings about not wanting to leave the past in the past.
The album itself is a 12-track story of a man in the city getting through a breakup. Being based in New York City, Subway Rat takes a lot of that influence into his sound. “Schoolyard Crush” is a fun upbeat song that has lyrics that capture that “love at first sight” feeling. It has a mix of techno beats intertwined with guitars and drums, making it really feel like alt indie meets hip hop. Songs like “Ruby’s” and “How Much Was My Fault?” feed off those heavy electric guitars and rock influence. The record does a great job touching on a large range of emotions.
The closing track has a similar feeling to “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish, really building on that passion and emotion that has escalated throughout the album. “LMK” has the hook of “let me know when you’re ready, I’ll go get a diamond.” Proving that after all these emotions are out in the world – it still feels impossible to let go.
Overall, this first project does an excellent job introducing the listener to Subway Rat. So if you were a fan of Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Subway Rat only continues to build and strengthen his sound on his sophomore project Captain of the Football Team. So be sure to give both of those albums a listen and continue to support independent musicians like Subway Rat!
Written by Katie Power
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