Pulley
(Epitaph)
by Tim Den
Despite the spell that the debut, Esteem Driven Engine, cast on me, my interest in Pulley has been rapidly dropping. Not because they suck or are assholes, but simply because they seem to be stuck in a creative rut. Their second album, 60 Cycle Hum, was so full of high school-level songs and rehashed clichĂ©s that they should’ve paid royalties to Bad Religion and NOFX. Naturally, I didn’t expect this record to be anything exciting. But with the aid of Ryan Greene (producer/engineer extraordinaire), Pulley has progressed a few steps out of pop-punkland – they’ve incorporated a few chugging riffs, a little ska shuffle, and nice, clean guitars, all showing maturing tendencies on this record. That’s a good start. The Pulley boys, however, still rely too much on pop-punk standards to make the songs worthwhile. The first two numbers, “Working Class Whore” and “Soberbeah,” sound like they could’ve been written by any average Joe on the block. And while they’re good and catchy, they’ve been done a million times. Maybe a little guidance from Lagwagon could lead them in the right direction.
(2798 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026)
