Pulley – Different Strings EP

Pulley and skate punk go together like Rock n Roll, like drunk & disorderly or like Kick n Flip, anyway you get the idea.  Born in California back around 1994 and having been snapped up by the juggernaut that is Epitaph Records, they went on to smash out no less than 7 full lengths, the last being ‘No Change In The Weather’ back in 2016. Having a sound that fills the gaps between the likes of The Descendents, Social Distortion and Circle Jerks, they definitely were/are among the elite in melodic punk rock.

Fast forward to today and it’s now time for them to take a look back over their shoulder and go all the way back to the beginning, ‘Different Strings’ is all about looking at a selections of songs from the first album ‘Esteem Drive Engine’ in pure form.  A four track EP is the result, whether your’e a Pulley fan of old or this is the first introduction to them for you, this will have you either going back and revisiting or giving the uninitiated a back catalogue to enjoy.

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As acoustic renditions go this has a definite feel of fresh new ears on the songs, even for the hardened fans, this will be something that opens up a whole new world of Pulley, without all the power pop/rock backdrop the songs take on a whole new life, ‘Silver Tongue’ loses its frenetic pace, its Sum 41 sense of delivery, instead what you get is a bit of Irish folk guitar intro and a lyric driven vocal rather than the music driving this along.

‘Cashed In’ although the original did start with a hint of the acoustic underbelly, this rendition delivers a much more considered approach to song of the difficult issues around making a loving opposed to making music, similarly ‘One Shot’ hangs on to a story line of making it at a cost, sung with just as much angst and conviction.

Lastly ‘No Defense’ loses it 1000 mile an hour thrashing, for a 10 mile an hour acoustic and to be honest very odd tongue in cheek vocal delivery, a little strange to get used to at first, but the lyrics stands up well though.

For fans and new listeners alike, this is worth checking out, brings some kind of clarity to what are already iconic songs.

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