Subway Rat is an indie-alternative singer-songwriter from Flushing, Queens, New York City. A relative newcomer to the alt-rock scene, he has gained over 5 million streams on Spotify in only 12 months. With a background in marketing and technology, David Polanco, the project’s brainchild, expertly infuses elements of hip-hop and classic rock to appeal to a wide range of listeners and make a unique stamp on the vibrant musical landscape in which he was raised.
In a short spurt of melodic punk, Polanco provides another reason for him to be on your radar. The minimal arrangement is brought to life by a cartoonishly passionate vocal performance accented by chanting backing vocals. The instrumentation swells up for a hook that begs to be memorized and screamed from rooftops. His otherworldly melodies are humanized by the words they deliver. Polanco writes from a place of authenticity and love. His signature rasp delivers moving poetry from a unique perspective. Subway Rat is shaping up to be a significant player in New York City’s punk scene. “7 Train” embodies the hecticness of the city while capturing the romance of all the chaos.
“I remember freestyling the words to this when my friend Danny came over, just to show him my songwriting process, and it turned into this personal snapshot of how I was feeling at the time post-breakup,” says Polanco on the new single. “I was taking the subway a lot that summer to and from my day job in the West Village before going full time on music, so this song feels bittersweet and nostalgic to me, while also feeling timeless and classic.”
