Professor Murder Rides the Subway is a forgotten slice of dance punk perfection

The Verge’s weekend editor recently rediscovered a 16-minute dance punk EP while reripping his CD collection, and he is highlighting it as a forgotten gem from the mid-aughts New York City music scene. The release, called Professor Murder Rides the Subway, is the work of the New York dance punk band Professor Murder. According to the editor, the record captures the atmosphere of the city’s indie scene around 2006, when many bands were pushing listeners to dance and have fun.

The editor notes that while LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture were the most famous acts in the dance punk revival, a number of lesser-known groups were also active in the same venues. He names Rahim, Liars, and Dan Deacon as examples of artists performing in the same era. Professor Murder, he says, stood out with a specific blend of cheap synth blasts, shouted vocal chants, busy syncopated percussion, and throbbing bass.

The tracks on the EP are built around a simple disco stomp, with the exception of the brief a cappella song “Pedigree.” The editor points out that cowbell and other tuned percussion elements add complexity to the arrangements without disrupting the groove. Unlike contemporaries such as LCD Soundsystem, who pursued bigger and more melodic textures, Professor Murder favored stripped-back arrangements where the drums are arguably the lead instrument.

Hooks and melodies are present, such as the fuzzy bass on “Camron’s New Color (Part 3),” but they sit quieter in the mix relative to the percussion. The editor describes the EP as bookended by two songs that represent the ideal of 2000s dance punk: “Champion” and “Free Stress Test.” He states that the latter track should have brought the band at least the level of success that The Rapture achieved, and he challenges listeners to keep from nodding along to the beat.

The editor wrote about the EP in a column focused on what he is listening to, watching, and reading. Professor Murder Rides the Subway is available on Bandcamp and on major streaming services, including Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Qobuz. The column also covers other recent media, such as an intimate coming-of-age horror film titled We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and a hip-hop breakup album by Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal, which are part of the same weekly roundup.

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