Pulkse

Why
Oh why
Do I let humans upset me so?

They're so caught up in their emotions, every little human so absorbed in themselves that they can hardly tell when they've lost their grip on reality.

I don't mean to ruin the mood. Let's not pretend that I don't function in society or that I am some kind of human-hating ogre. I just grow very weary of the self-assured, self-absorbed, ugly shells of a personality that fill the void in their persona with traits taken from all the most shallow romantic comedies and most meaningless extreme left-wing propaganda.

And what upsets me most, perhaps, is that I am one of them. I share all the weaknesses, all the fleshy scars of a wounded man, that make me just the same as you. I hate even the fact that I can hate.

I can be more than this. As can you. But first, you have to let go. You are not special, just as I am not. Understanding this is key to letting go of those views that bring you down, and I with you. Let go of the anger, let happiness and serenity in, and you'll live a content life.

I ride on a bus for 2 hours a day when I could just as easily get the train in an hour. Two hours of living in my own head and observing the world as an alien voyeur is a beautiful thing.

The real salvation lies in Science.

Pulkse will be back in the Summer for a small number of shows in Leeds and/or London. Contact us for any enquiries.

Pulkse. 

It's been too long, hasn't it?

Pulkse are a band what got 9/10 in the last review they recieved. It was on the song Single Serving Friend and it was from the lovely people at Living Atheist. Rather than paste the entire review here, we'll just give you a link:

MySpace Blog - Living Atheist on Single Serving Friend - 9/10

There, wasn't that easier for us all?

Pulkse are a band that are taking several breaks over the next few years. Since we will now be university students, we will only be a "band" in the traditional sense in university holidays. You should refer to our shows then. But for now, and the immediate future, we thank you for your attention and we hope that your life is fulfilled and stress free.

With great sadness, but immense hope for the future, we bid you good evening.

For now.

Pulkse
x

03 Single Serving Friend

Pulkse

2 comments

Our second EP has arrived on Vox. Finally, you say. We know, we went on about it, but once you hear it and maybe even compare it to The Whore and The Holyman, you'll realise why we were so excited. Listen for free now...

Both EPs will be available from TuneTribe.com shortly.

First day at the studio is over. Most of the recording's done, actually.

EP Cover

 There are probably a few little tweaks left to do here and there, but all in all the second EP is looking like a success (touch wood).

We got up this morning and set off for World's End Studios in Orpington - a building which turned out very different from what we expected - in crisp summer morning weather. What happened in the studios with the wonderfully nice Martin Kingston is mere legend, but when we emerged as men who had recorded the vast majority, if not all, of their fantastic second EP, it rained rivers at us. That's when we knew we'd done good. When the weather is as apocalyptic as your last song, you know you can be proud.

And I stumbled into my house and slept on the sofa. Lord knows what George and Jonathan are doing, but I should imagine it's something similar. You'll have the EP by Friday, I reckon. Peace out.

Pulkse
x

...Of the cover of our second EP. A beautiful creation both visually and the audio encased within, I feel. We'll see how it turns out later this week. But things are looking good. If not great. You will find this nowhere else online. I'm not sure how much you care, but to me it's a big deal.

EP Cover

Also, it was our bassist's birthday today. As in, the 20th. Everyone wish him happy birthday, he'll love it.

When Maximo Park released Our Earthly Pleasures and it turned out to be amazing from beginning to end, I had high hopes for this year in music. Then Editors released An End Has A Start and I thought we could never get any better. Amazing album, even though the last song is the laziest song of theirs since Bullets. *shudder*

THEN I unwrapped Interpol - Our Love To Admire. Admittedly, being my favourite band, they could have done no wrong. However, in all honesty this album has made my year and now I can't wait 'til November when I go see them.

The only disappointment has been Icky Thump. Stupid Stripes, they got lazy.

Anyway, the next one is gonna be De Doctrina Christiana by Pulkse.

Don't tell anyone I told you the name.

I'll divide them into songs, cause they're all for specific songs.

Em.

1. Rating: 6/10
Nice guitar intro, basic but original sounding. Better production values could greatly improve the overall sound.

2. Rating: 5/10
This song is mediocre. The vocals are quite boring, and the melody is not exciting either. If you sit down and write some new stuff which fits the style of singing your vocalist has, you have potential. I like the bit about 3:30 minutes in.

3. Rating: 4/10
Some good composition and ideas. Needs work though.

Australasia

1. Rating: 6/10
Good solid album track. Draws the listener in. Good arrangements though quite long. Will go down well with the Radiohead fan.

2. Rating: 4/10
Doesn't really go anywhere. Non-offensive. OK as a B-side.

3. Rating: 3/10
too long,does'nt really take off or go any where

4. Rating: 1/10
to slow and boring and four minutes too long

5. Rating: 8/10
A different sound to 'Exposition of Exegesis'.
To me, this is a darker offering, with the emphasis more on the percussion and vocal. They'll go mental, but this is more of a Thom Yorke effort than the previous number.
It's a quality effort with a clean sound and personality.
Musically good. Again. Thoughtful. Again.
There's a very bright future ahead for Pulkse, should that be their desire.
If they start doing this as a profession, you're gonna wish you knew them before they were famous.

Exposition of Exegesis

1. Rating: 8/10
Fantasic piano work and great layers. elements of muse here however it has a nice mystique and darkness to the proggression.

2. Rating: 9/10
Depth, pitch, haunting undercurrent, love it! Great harmonies, crescendos, suspense, this song has it all, I had to listen to the whole thing. Center section (around 3 min) seemed to drag a bit, but lead nicely into the next section, building gradually. Loving the resolution of the chords too, but I'm not so sure about the drum before the last section (around 4 min) where it slows down, think it would be better just to add in drums later.

3. Rating: 9/10
This is like Muse. We need more bands like this taking chances and not conforming to the latest fad. Piano works really well and vocals are great, if not quite powerful enough yet.

4. Rating: 3/10
self-indulgent arrangement, vocals could be stronger, reminiscent of muse. Well played instrumentation lovely guitar in the middle and nice piano or though its a little to classic sounding and could do with a better mix and production. I would suggest and upright piano recorded or at lest panned in mono. Very good drums. This is one of the songs there never seems to go anywhere.

Now, I'd love to moan about the bad ones and say "Those who can, do. Those who can't, review." to nurse my wounds but I'm not actually that hurt. If there are bad reviews there, I think "well, maybe someone else enjoyed it"... cause I enjoy what I do, so there MUST be someone else in the world who does, right? Also, some of the reviews clearly aren't to be taken seriously. "Four minutes too long"?!?! No one would appreciate a 1 minute long song, silly billy.

I dunno how many people read this blog. It doesn't seem the A&R people do, and if they read those reviews they probably won't anymore... I'd like everyone to get in contact, even if it's just for a chat. I have a lot more time on my hands than you'd think, I'll have a chat with you if you like.

Also, give our music a comment. I'm sure you'll do a lot better than some of the more clueless ones up there ^^^

Oh yeah, the site those reviews came from is SlicethePie.com ... it's a bit of a rubbish website really, but I thought I'd give it to all the musicians who think they could benefit from it.

Peace out, brethren.

Pulkse

x

Edit: I feel it's worth adding that I agree with some of the bad reviews, too. Those who say Australasia is an album track, for instance. That's exactly what it is. It's not involving or varied enough to be strong on its own, it has to be part of a whole. And we know this. It's tracks like that that fans will love having listened to a complete LP, not that will draw new listeners in. As we all know, to market a band and draw people in, you use the strongest tracks and then the listener will begin to love the weaker too. I didn't want it to seem like we had just shrugged comments like that off, because we do take them to heart and try to make something out of them. 

...Or so they would have us believe.

We gave a little demo' at a primary school this week, promoting taking up musical subjects in secondary school. The kids loved it, and we loved that they did. Some kids said they wanted to be rock stars when they were adults, while others commented on the whiteness of my teeth. "It's because I clean them regularly", I said. Such a good role model.

Anyway, all the staff attended the "show", and gazing across them all you would've thought you were at a WI meeting. Every staff member except for one was female. Are we living in such a prejudiced world, so perverted that we assume every man who wants to make kid's lives better must be a paedophile? It dawned on me what a horrible society we live in, where everything has to be related to sex.

We're all human.

We'll book up a studio for our next EP soon. Some names and tracks have been thrown around, but nothing's concrete yet. Look out for it, you'll be the first ones to hear it.

Pulkse

x

I'm thinking of how I write songs. George sits with his piano and bashes something amazing out; PeZ sits with a guitar and writes a basis for me to build on; but I, Aaron, the singer/guitarist, can't sit with an instrument and write a song from scratch. I come up with a tiny bit in my head, write it out proper musical like, and I try to build on that. Instruments only come into it when it's written and I need to learn it and develop little add ons that I couldn't write on a score. It's a strange way of writing, I feel. Maybe I need to work on that.

Anyway, how is everyone? Pulkse have been moving slowly, but we're about to get moving again. Hold onto your hats.

I made you, and now I take you back.

Muse played some place called Wembley Stadium tonight. Apparently, It's in this city of ours.

I just read a fresh review on the NME website. Sounds amazing. Since the dawn of Pulkse, I've wanted a clear drum kit with a logo and neon borders. I've wanted female dancers who would give their take on our songs as silhouettes backstage and at the front too. In high heels and top hats. Made up to look like they were going to a funeral. I've wanted showmanship that would match our epic sound. I want to put on the kind of show that leaves an imprint on people's lives. Makes them realise that our great escapism is all for them. Shows that art is beautiful, in any form.

And that's what Muse did tonight. And do at every show. They know no boundaries. One of my favourite songs, Blackout, they played while two gymnasts suspended from massive balloons floated over the audience. Take A Bow, a masterpiece that I loved from the first note, was ended with a torrent of flames. This is art. The way I see it.

Of course, you have to start small. And that's what we're all doing, isn't it? Most of us will never live the dream, and you can't bank your life on it. All you can do, I suppose, is put your all into your songwriting. And treat every show like it's your last. Our last show was amazing. We played a beautiful venue and our best songs. And the crowd were pretty impressed. We were certainly the most original, and least "Arctic Monkeys", band there. When I listen to something like Exposition of Exegesis, I think "Wow. This is amazing." I love what I do. But I suppose, everyone loves what they do, or they'd be out there searching for something to fill the void.

I rant don't I. It's cause I'm so frustrated that we haven't found our "Right Place, Right Time" scenario yet, where someone with influence realises that we have potential. Am I deluded? Would it take too much work to make us a good sound? I think we'd do most of the work ourselves. I have massive visions for Pulkse, and I can't see laziness getting in the way of those. I'd be a perfectionist with our sound, given the time and facilities.

Or maybe we're just not everyone's thing. Are we all too Fall Out Boy to listen to Radiohead these days? Too Panic! for Portishead?

Stem my flow.

Talk to me.

Pulkse

x

PS - I have started my search for studios within our budget for our second EP. Should you be interested, it's going to be more adventurous than our first, and have more of us letting ourselves go - "rocking out", as it were.