Tuesday October 23, 2001

Pulley

Together Again for the First Time

(Epitaph)

Grade:

A

Scott Radinsky and company have pulled it off again. On its fourth full-length release, their band Pulley manages to keep the intensity of its previous recordings and still stay fresh on all of the new tracks. Sometimes all a band needs is to speed things up to make its sound more intense, and Pulley has done just that.

Driving each song is the band's drummer, who does not let up throughout the entire album. The group manages to squeeze 13 melodic songs into 29 minutes of playtime. This leaves the listener wanting more of the band's catchy music, and what is great about the album is that you can listen to it a dozen times and not doze off - it's that good.

Radinsky's lyrics are a timeline of his personal problems with life and love and loss. Each track is a chronicle of pain and hope with an underlying sense that he is glad to be alive despite many problems.

"Not afraid to be mistaken/not afraid to try/not afraid to be uncertain/not afraid to die," from "Hooray For Me," is an example of how candid he is about his personal struggles.

It's nice to listen to a group of musicians that obviously love what they do and can be honest through their lyrics.

The members of Pulley always manage to find time to make records, even though each has a busy schedule. Radinsky pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the rest of the group spends its time in other bands and side projects. That is why Together Again for the First Time is such a great title. The band has rediscovered its passion through its music and conveys the message through this solid album.