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PULSEPROGRAMMING, "TULSA FOR ONE SECOND"
Aesthetics
Prior to this album, my only exposure to Pulseprogramming came via asplit EP with Signaldrift and a couple of compilation appearances, allof them striking me as being pleasant but average work that wasgenerally indistinguishable from the ever expanding glut of"indie-tronica" artists. When I heard their track "Blooms Eventually"on a Wire Magazine compilation a few months back, I immediately fell inlove with it, despite the twee lyrics and the use of slightly hokeyfilter effects on the vocals. That track opens Tulsa For One Second,and while it would be hard for any record to hold to a consistentquality after such a near-perfect intro, the eight tracks that followdo a pretty good job of it. The record flits back and forth frominstrumental to vocal tracks, and it's hard to deny that the lyricsaren't exactly deep or thought-provoking ("Off To Do Showery Snapshots"includes a quote from "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"!) - but that's not agreat concern as this is an album that is more about mood and musicthan stories and messages. Tracks such as "Don't Swell Up You GlassPocket" and "All Joy And Rural Honey" evoke a similar sweet and puremelancholy as Múm and various Morr Music artists, while the moreenergetic "Largely Long-Distance Loves" throws layers of gorgeousmelody over a minimal tech-house throb. The disc closing "Bless TheDrastic Space" wraps things up nicely with groovy glitch-beats, mellowpiano lines and some almost psychedelic background swirls, followedafter a couple of minutes of silence by a strange little music boxdeconstruction. On top of all that, the packaging is really nifty,featuring a cardboard sleeve that can be folded out and built into agrey and desolate looking house. The imagery is perhaps a littlestarker than the music deserves, but it's still a nice touch to thisenjoyable project.
Prior to this album, my only exposure to Pulseprogramming came via asplit EP with Signaldrift and a couple of compilation appearances, allof them striking me as being pleasant but average work that wasgenerally indistinguishable from the ever expanding glut of"indie-tronica" artists. When I heard their track "Blooms Eventually"on a Wire Magazine compilation a few months back, I immediately fell inlove with it, despite the twee lyrics and the use of slightly hokeyfilter effects on the vocals. That track opens Tulsa For One Second,and while it would be hard for any record to hold to a consistentquality after such a near-perfect intro, the eight tracks that followdo a pretty good job of it. The record flits back and forth frominstrumental to vocal tracks, and it's hard to deny that the lyricsaren't exactly deep or thought-provoking ("Off To Do Showery Snapshots"includes a quote from "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"!) - but that's not agreat concern as this is an album that is more about mood and musicthan stories and messages. Tracks such as "Don't Swell Up You GlassPocket" and "All Joy And Rural Honey" evoke a similar sweet and puremelancholy as Múm and various Morr Music artists, while the moreenergetic "Largely Long-Distance Loves" throws layers of gorgeousmelody over a minimal tech-house throb. The disc closing "Bless TheDrastic Space" wraps things up nicely with groovy glitch-beats, mellowpiano lines and some almost psychedelic background swirls, followedafter a couple of minutes of silence by a strange little music boxdeconstruction. On top of all that, the packaging is really nifty,featuring a cardboard sleeve that can be folded out and built into agrey and desolate looking house. The imagery is perhaps a littlestarker than the music deserves, but it's still a nice touch to thisenjoyable project.
