Pulse Park and the massive pummel and empathy of "Sine Wave" from the MUST HAVE debut FL "Phonac Music"

 

"got to tell you what it means..."

The density of sound, heaviness and tenderness of "Sine Wave" by Germany's Pulse Park, and track 2 from their debut album "Phonac Music" dropping on April 16th, 2022 via Shore Dive Records, might take you back or depending on what kind of relationship you have with music might take you down the proverbial rabbit hole. Either way and if you appreciate the music I write about here on American Pancake I can guarantee that you will love "Phonac Music". To be clear here and while this is a clear fucking endorsement (seriously- support this band and buy the album), it is not really an album review, not that a full review will not happen it may (I have so many side hustles to keep the lights on during these strange economic times that album reviews don't happen often anymore). 

NOW to "Sine Wave". This track like all the songs that Pulse Park craft is tightly wound and punchy as hell but has a soft underbelly and despite the absolutely sledge hammering big downbeats and forward punches there is a wonderful dreaminess and like an amalgam of artists like Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and 90's American college radio (in general) there is empathy and eyes to the stars gazes wrapped around the sinewy indie rock pummeling. I love Pulse Parks ability to absolutely crush and distill such a heaviness while sounding (emo-esque) melancholy. The double time "Icaric" with power slides and dream shoegaze fogginess might be the most ying yangian in this sense. It is amazingly gorgeous in it's power. 

There is a kind of jangle pop airiness to some of the tracks on "PM" that feels like late 80's KROQ radio stuff, incredibly big and heavy but more Lemonheads meets Dinosaur Jr like the tracks "Strange Matter" or the vast / romantic "Apollonian Heart" or the late night question on the midnight ride of "Factory Fire". There are post rock meets post hardcore sonic imagery with a grunge patina on tracks like the intoxicated (or sober) "Aspairt" and soft and hard blows of "The Equidistance". 

Still Pulse Park shows different sides on the heartfelt "Realtime" that crushes together indie rock with faint strains of baroque pop and folk orchestration or at least a sense of it, like spraying perfume in the air and walking gingerly through it. "Realtime" and "A Constant" with it's ramping up tensions cast the band in an elegant light. You can hear it in the mournful guitar melodies and those goosebumps moments.

Finally, the rabid tom tom beats, the vast hazy barrage of sound, with pounding guitar and bass shapes and the dreamy vocal harmonies of track 1: "Antibody" might encapsulate Pulse Park's ability to flood our senses with sound and empathetic places the most although you can probably say this about any one of these songs. They all are incredibly indie trope free too, just beautiful, raw and real. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

 

Pulse Park · 02 - Pulse Park - Sine Wave

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.facebook.com/Pulsepark.de

https://soundcloud.com/pulse-park

https://twitter.com/PulsePark

https://pulsepark.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pulse_park/

https://www.pulse-park.com/

Magnusson - g/v Frank Hagen - b/g
Oliver Polastri - d

Debut album 'Phonac Music' out April 16th.


We get by with a little help from our friends

 Pulse Park, Germany, "Sine Wave", debut album "Phonac Music", indie rock, shoegaze, jangle pop, post punk, post hardcore, orchestrated folk, divergent, American 90's college radio,