Professor Murder Rides the Subway is a forgotten slice of dance punk perfection
A retrospective look at the 2006 EP 'Professor Murder Rides the Subway' highlights its significance in the mid-2000s New York dance punk scene. The author argues that the band's minimalist, drum-focused approach captured the era's energy better than many of their more famous contemporaries.
Why it matters
This piece serves as a cultural critique and historical preservation of a specific niche in the 2000s indie music landscape.
I recently dug out my CDs and started reripping them all. I’ve found a few forgotten gems in there, but few hit harder for me than the beautifully concise Professor Murder Rides the Subway EP. There was a period of time in the mid-aughts in NYC where it seemed like every indie band wanted you to let loose, dance like no one was watching, and just have some damn fun. Few embodied that as much as New York dance punk band Professor Murder.
LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture were the biggest names of the dance punk revival. But there were also bands like Rahim, Liars, Dan Deacon, and countless lesser-known acts on DFA that you could see on any given weekend around NYC. And I spent a lot of time in those venues, shamelessly dancing my ass off to all of them.
[Media: https://professormurder.bandcamp.com/album/professor-murder-rides-the-subway]
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