PULLMAN – III

The new year brings new opportunities, and some say new beginnings. Occasionally, some of those new beginnings may start off with a crack pipe or a needle…but no, I digress, and we won’t talk about some of those things. We will though, discuss some other things that could possibly be just as addictive.

As the years pass us by, they tend to drag us in one direction or the other, but again, we could be moving in a direction altogether differently. It’s probably why this comes as a surprise. Pullman resurfaces after 25 years with a new lease on its musical life. The outfit was created as a studio “super” group, originally filled by former members of such notable acts as Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day, Bastro, and Come just to name a few. The group just released its third album, aptly titled III (Western Vinyl), which follows up 1998’s Turnstyles & Junkpiles and 2001’s Viewfinder. The group, still revolving around the same lineup of Chris Brokaw, Doug McCombs, Curtis Harvey, Ken “Bundy K.” Brown, and Tim Barnes, hasn’t made a misstep through the album and while time and space may have kept the group from releasing another album, III seems to prove the band has only gotten better with age. The 13+ minutes of “October” is testament to that notion, as the group plays with delicate textures, slowly building around softly stroked notes as the song crescendos, moving steadily before it’s embellished with overdriven guitars seeping in and out. It’s unmistakably soothing until its eventual end, which takes a few minutes to drift off once again through those same tender notes and musical effects. “Thirteen” is just as delicate, revolving around acoustic guitars that drift in and out across a beautifully stark landscape. It draws one in emotionally as every note is strummed and plucked. At almost 5 minutes in, it drifts off into an almost complete silence, which lasts from the remaining 3 minutes or so. It leaves you to your own thoughts, wondering what you just listened to. Clever.

With just six songs on this album, III captures Pullman’s identity, which has morphed from one album to the next. The group is intricate in the delivery of its instruments, it’s thoughtful in the construction of its songs, and the band is deliberate in everything it has compiled on this one release.