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Many of you will remember recently we featured Subway Rat’s latest album Captain of the Football Team, well as a bit of a special treat for ya’ll in our quest to get to know this underdog of music even better, we took a step back and decided to rewind the clock and go back to his debut album Stand Clear of The Closing Door.
Although released back in Summer 2023, I would probably describe this as one of those best keep secrets which only a select knew about, not that there was anything wrong with it, but it was more a case that being the ever proactive artist he is David Polanco was always an artist who never wanted to stop creating - a man after my own heart!
With this album being something to be proud of, as after all debut albums will never lose their relevance as they mark those important milestones in an artists evolution, it was an absolute honour to look into the album even further.
Consisting of 12 tracks, as you would expect from Subway Rat, this album is full of such diversity and is a blend of different styles which show even in the earlier days David Polanco was no stranger to pushing himself, to give each song on the album it’s own unique identity.
The record begins with opening track Tell Me What To Do which is a honest and direct sounding style of track, which is what I guess sometimes what situations what feel like in life where what ever has gone on, especially when it comes to relationships, it takes someone brave to come forward and quite simply ask ‘tell me what to do?’, and I think from listening to this track, music fans can get a lot of encouragement from Subway Rat.
Moving on to Rendezvous, I am really impressed by the lyrics to this song, because it is written in a way where you can really find a personal resonance with the track and also has a range of lyrics such as 'I live a half baked life, nothing is going right, I need some love tonight…’ being a prime example.
Two songs in, and already I am starting to visualise what type of artist Subway Rat was like back in the early days compared to who is now. So let’s continue. Next up we have Schoolyard Crush, which has a cool and funky introduction to it, made even more attractive by that synth, it just makes you want to get up and dance.
In terms of the song itself, I love the sweet and innocent sentiment of Subway Rat’s lyrics, and the way he open heartedly just expresses some of the positive feelings about that one person on his mind. We can all see ourselves in this song, one way or the other because I am sure we can resonate with the fact that at some point in life, there must have been moments where there was that one person which we would have such natural affection for.
I would also say that the track that follows on, Tomorrow, is just an extension of that heart warming gratitude and lover as again its a song which we can all relate to especially when it comes to that one person who might never realise just how important they are in our lives.
How Much Was My Fault?, due to its originality and honesty within the lyrics is probably one of my favourites from the record, because of the way Subway Rat is taking even more of a step outside of his comfort zone and just mixing things up a little bit, so we get more of a flavour for his creative mind.
I won’t go every single one of the tracks on the record, just so that as a call to action you go and check out the record to for yourself, but what I shall do next is just pick out a couple of others which really caught my attention. One of those would be Mouth to Mouth which starts off with a nostalgic 80s feel but with a 2024 twist to it. Lyrically I am impressed how Subway Rat is able to take something candid and make it sound poetic.
The final track I want to point out as a highlight track would be another fave of mine would be Don’t Answer Me because its just direct from the heart and feels like a declaration of love especially with lines such as ‘…there is no me without you, you will see one day I was telling the truth…’. Furthermore in my opinion it is that one track on the record where we see all the different quirky and wonderful creativity of Subway Rat coming together as one.
So there we have it just some of my mental notes on Subway Rat’s debut album. When I compare it with his much more recent album it is easy to see his confidence growing as he continues to become the master of his own special evolution.
Available on all major platforms, check out both albums today - you won’t regret it!
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Article by Thushara Chandrasiri
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