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Closer Than You Think
Artist: Puller
Label: Tooth and Nail Records
Time: 13 tracks/57:47 |
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"Wishing," the opening track of Closer Than You Think,
will no doubt have Puller fans scratching their heads, wondering, "Where
have they taken my favorite band, and who is playing this radio-friendly
modern rock in their place?" Not to worry. The hammering riffs
and jagged rhythms introduced on their debut, Sugarless, return
in time to keep the fan from throwing the disc on the pile of MTV-crowned
flavors of the month.
The collective talents of Puller are on full display throughout
this release. A powerful metallic low-end crunch is taken on an obstacle
course of time changes with superb precision. Trouble is, too much
of this good thing makes for an occasionally compelling, but mostly
exhausting experience. The listener is left with little to hold on
to, sort of like trying to tackle Barry Sanders. Impressed, no doubt,
but still left behind, watching as the Detroit Lions's star running back
dances in the end zone.
Wonderful things do happen when the pyrotechnics meet a unifying
idea, particularly on two songs in the middle of the disc. In "Own
Devices", disparate musical themes flow rather than crash into each other
as Mike Lewis sings about refusing to accept another's help:
You set out your hands
I reach for something else
You whisper my name
I hear my call
I tend to fall down
Hope prevails, though, in "Light In Eve's Time", which slowly builds
before a piano solo (no kidding!) leads into the joyful finale:
Reborn life
Picking up the pieces to survive
Keeping me barely alive
Keeping my heart alive
Keeping my hands, keeping my hope
Keeping my soul alive
"Am I Samaritan" is another lyrical highlight, as Lewis identifies
with the woman who Jesus met at the well. But these moments are lost
in the complexities of what could have been, with just a little more restraint,
an excellent album.
By Brett MacAlpine
This sophomore venture by former For Love Not Lisa frontman Mike
Lewis' group shows alternating signs of maturity and stubbornness.
None will argue that Puller isn't a crack rhythm unit; this quartet manages
time shifts to make any prog band drool. The band exhibits more texture
and emo appeal this time, while tracks like "Wishing" and "She" suggest
kinship with the Foo Fighters. The problem with these deft players
arises in the "too much of a good thing" category. As on the bands'
debut, Sugarless, dense layering of guitar and aversion to
standard two-and-four rock drumming create a claustrophobic air.
An exception is "Light in Eve's Time," which borrows the repeating chime
of the Church's "Destination." When the groove hits, it feels like
a river breaking a logjam.
Jeff Elbel (8/20/99)
