In a punk rock world full of clichés, one of the most common is that all Epitaph bands sound the same. Now in the past this had some glimmer of truth, but recently the label has been full of diversity, branching out into the fields of hip-hop, and signing a host of versatile punk artists. Strange then, that one of the best albums to emerge from the label this year should be recorded by Pulley, an exponent of the traditional Epitaph sound if ever there was one.
‘Matters’ is Pulley‘s fifth studio album and sees the band in as good a form as ever. The band have always churned out quality long players, but this set has an energy to it that has been lacking from their last couple of releases. Part of this, is down to a change of producer. Recently the Pulley have worked with the ever-reliable Ryan Greene, but on this occasion have teamed up with Matt Hyde, a decision that has defiantly paid off.
So, yes, on the surface Pulley are playing a brand of punk rock that is at least a decade old. However, what is more important is that they are playing it better than practically any other band on the circuit right now, and crucially the style of music itself hasn’t fallen out of fashion. It may be skate punk, and it may be unoriginal, but what ‘Matters’ is that this is an album full of twelve cracking songs. Pulley start out this album with speed, intensity and more hooks than B&Q, and don’t let up on their relenting pace, save for the beautiful closing acoustic track, ‘Thanks’. There are aspects to admire all through the album, from the scorching dual guitar act, to the strong and personal lyrics. ‘Huber Breeze’ combines So Cal ferocity with Beach Boys harmonies to great effect and ‘Blindfold’ tells the story of a broken relationship. The album never dips in quality and still manages to occasionally grasp for excellence. ‘Poltergeist’ is quite simply stunning, one of the best songs this band has written and containing probably the best chorus you will hear this year. There is just more depth and style here than most purveyors of this type of music can muster, and, at the end of the day, that is what makes this half hour set stand out so much from a very crowded genre.
‘Matters’ is one of the best examples of the traditional Epitaph sound to appear for some time. It is an album that knows its place and yet manages to rise above its boundaries. It is generic, it couldn’t be anything else, but sometimes that doesn’t matter. Pulley have crafted an album that is solid and entertaining throughout and is certainly amongst their best work. Buy it and remind yourself why you started listening to this music in the first place.
Mark