Customer Reviews

Matters

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know what else to say - everytime I put it in my CD player it gets played all the way through. Although I'd heard a lot of their stuff before, I never really took a keen interest in Pulley until I heard the single "insects destroy". I loved it so much that I bought the cd - and it turned out that the rest of the CD was just as good!
Like I said, I'm new to the band, but I've been a punk fan for a long time, and I can tell you this: if you like melodic punk, you'll love this record. It's fast, has some great guitar work (the solo on 'huber breeze' is great), and it's got harmony in all the right places. "Insects Destroy" and "a bad reputation", the two singles, are great songs indeed, but you'll find much better stuff on the rest of the album: "Huber Breeze" is just great all around, "looking back" is fast and melodic the the extreme, and YSC is... well, you'll have to listen for yourself, but it's awesome.

Just so you know what I'm partial to, some of my favorite bands include bad religion and nofx, as well as pennywise and face to face. If you like any of these bands, this CD is definitely for you!

Let me begin by first saying that I am a big Pulley fan and have every one of their albums. However, I must say that this album follows the last two in which it dissapoints. Not to say that it isn't any good but it definately lacks the luster found in Pulley's first two albums, Esteem Driven Engine and 60 Cycle Hum which are still two of my favorite punk albums since I started liking punk back in 1990. Esteem Driven Engine is definately THE Pulley album to buy. They need Strung Outs Jordan to return...

This is by far the best Pulley album ever. Scott's vocals absolutly sore on this album. Scott does a lot of vocal tracking which is cool but questionable live. The vocal tracking especially stands out in songs like Blindfold, Huber Breeze and Insects Destroy. However there is just great tracking on all of them really. Anyone without the knowledge of music probably wouldn't tell but anyone with that knowledge could really tell the hard work Scott did on this album. He does a lot of great vocal harmonizing. There is not one weak moment on this c.d. with his vouice. For a real treat he goes acoustic on Thanks and everyone gets to hear his vouice really sore. Onto Jim Blowers the newest guitarist of Pulley. I met Jim at a show Pulley did in Lancaster, CA. While the show was terrible because El Dorado in Lancaster is the worst venue in the entire world (I don't think the sound guys there knew what they were doing at all) I was able to meet Jim after their set. He turned out to be a really great guy. Although at that time he was still playing songs that he didn't have any influence in writting. I was really anxious to see what would come out of him on this album. Jim uses Fender guitars so his sound is a bit different from Mike's it has a bit more of a twang to it. However his solo on Huber Breeze is absolutly fantastic. He is a bit of a guitar shredder while Mike is the melody maker. YSC has a great little guitar riff by Jim in it as well. It honestly sounds like something Bad Religion would do. Just starting a song off with a solo. Also Jim has a cool little melody in YSC. Not to mention the guitar melodic solo in Looking Back. Jim really does great on this album. Mike's work on this c.d. stands out in tracks such as Blindfold, Insects Destroy, and Poltergeist. Mike really doesn't solo that much from what I can hear. Mike does a lot of melodys like Insects Destory and Poltergeist. Then in Blindfold the little breakdown melody right after the 2nd chorus is just so unique it reminds me of something Fugazi would do for a second. Also it's hard to hear if Mike does the solo for I Remember but there is great guitar work in that song. All and all Mike provides a great thickness with his guitar on this album. It's hard to tell what Jim and Mike do because a lot of the solos seem to be tracked into both right and left. Tyler and Tony work great on this album. I've never heard Tyler so melodic before. I would pick out certain tracks for his goofy ass but he seems to do really great on everything. If you just listen to the background you'll hear all this cool bass stuff everywhere. Stomach Aches has great bass lines in it. Tyler's bass fills and great finger picking make this album so solid. Tony's drums are just great too. All his work in Ten Foot Pole was great and honestly TAFFT didn't have that great of drum work, this album has really great work in it. Tony goes really fast on this album again and is really tight again with his fills. He has really come far as a drummer. In closure this is by far the best Pulley c.d. out there right now. It took them nearly three years to make this album and it was worth every second of waiting. This is the best punk rock album I've heard in a very long time. It has the melodic Pulley mixed with the fast Pulley and makes the best album I have ever heard by them. There isn't really one bad song on this entire album. The entire album just gives you that good feeling inside. If your a fan of Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, NOFX, Millencolin, anything in that area there is no way you will not like this album. It's fantastic, Pulley did a hell of a job!!!

The Pulley boys have slowed down considerably since @#!*, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Radinsky's vocals have become more rough and grating, perhaps in an effort to compensate for the loss of the raw edge they had in @#!*. The effect of layering Scott's vocals has become a constant in Matters, which rather than adding anything to their sound actually just smacks of overproduction. Pulley have essentially lost the edge they had in their earlier albums, but that's not to say they don't still deliver catchy tunes with somewhat improved lyrics this time around. If you don't already have @#!* I'd suggest you buy it over this one, but if you are a Pulley fan, check Matters out, I have the feeling that you'll either appreciate their efforts or you'll resent them for the change.

This is such an incredible cd, I don't understand how any one wouldn't like it. The melodies are unbelievable, the guitars and drumming are lightning fast. This is one of my top 10 cds of all time. Pulley have never gotten the respect they deserve in my opinion. With all of this crappy emo, screamo, hardcore junk out today, its so great to hear pulley's great brand of skate punk that you don't hear much of lately.

You can tell Pulley worked very hard on this album. There are no filler songs on this CD; every song is pure gold. Pulley is a great band formed a bunch of guys kicked out of other bands. (Like Scott from Ten Foot Pole.) I recommend this CD to any fan of Ten Foot Pole, Lagwagon, or any fan of true punk unlike Blink 182.

On their fifth release, Pulley are coming to terms with who they are and what their place is in this wacky music scene. Lead singer and sportsman Scott Radinsky offers lyrics with substance as the band fastidiously works through the 12 tracks on ³Matters². Some of the tracks, in particular, showcase the sagacity of this venerable combo. ³Insects Destroy² is an introspective spelunk through their inner demons and some other demons they found along the way, all tracked over stampeding guitars and aaaah-ing backup vocals. Wow, I almost wrote vox. I hate it when people write vox. Who does that? Do those same nerds call their eyeglasses their bifox? ³Looking Back² is a slightly more melodic retrospective of the various times that the boys in Pulley have endured and enjoyed together, with the refrain, ³Itıs all about me/the reflection I see,² intimating a sense of isolation and loss. Overall, ³Matters² is another solidly constructed effort from Radinsky and the boys that adds a new layer of texture and depth to the Pulley oeuvre.

I really enjoyed this album, the first Pulley album I ever owned. It's got great vocals, along with guitar bass and drums.

A Bad Reputation - 5/5 excellent song throughout
Blindfold - 4.5/5 good song, just didn't seem so coherent
Huber Breeze - 6/5 best song on the album, excellent harmonies and instruments
Insects Destroy - 5/5 great song, a little break from the quick punk rhythm
Looking Back - 4.5/5 good song, great vocals, fun guitar solo to tab
Poltergeist - 5/5 excellent song with great vocals
Immune - 4.5/5 good song, slower pace than the rest
YSC - 5/5 great song, immature lyrics...
Stomach Aches - 5.5/5 second favorite song on the album - super guitar, great vocals...awesome song
I Remember - 4/5 - one of the weaker songs, just not a favorite of mine
Suitcase - 4.5/5 starts off like a slow dance song, then speeds up and has some pretty good parts
Thanks - 4/5 weakest song on the album. I've just never liked the acoustic songs on any bands album.

Buy this album, you'll like it if you like quick punk with good lyrics!

I got into pulley about a year ago, and ive been waiting for this CD for over a year, and it does not dissapoint. Any fan of punk rock or pop punk(no not like simple plan and good charlotte, those are boy bands not pop punk) should pikc this up! best songs:

Insects Destroy - different than the rest of the CD, one of the best songs ever, head to www.epitaph.com, go to pulleys section and d/l this track for free, its awesome

ok well back to listing the best songs :) -

Insects Destroy
Bad Reputation
Huber Breeze
Immune
Poltergiest

but they all rock trust me :), also check out "Together Again For The First Time" and their self titled record!

I loved this album. Pulley really stepped it up in my opinion. I like everything from Slayer to Mxpx, but these guys hit the spot. Somewhat of a snowboard bum, i'm drawn to the classic "we're not going anywhere" attitude of punk and this album brings it to the table. Lots of new approaches to producing, and some bad religion -like chorus combos. interesting album, one i enjoyed from start to finish. especially track 2, 4 and 5.