“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but it is.”
I’ve been listening to Pulses since the release of their first album, Bouquet, in 2017, and I’ve always respected their genuine, DIY approach to their music and brand. Despite a lot of their initial draw resting on their swancore genre label, there is a lot more to the band than that. They self-describe as “mentally post-hardcore smoothed out on the emo tip with a pop feel appeal to it,” which, while quite the mouthful, I would say is largely true, and they confidently flex that sound on their new album It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This. (Writer’s note: the band’s name is spelled “pulses.” but I will be sacrificing accuracy for readability in this writing.)
The band’s first release from this album, “Different Strokes”, showcases some of what makes Pulses a fun listen. You get a mathcore intro here, which expands into more of a typical post-hardcore type of pattern, but very fun and playful in sound, and that proves to be their M.O. a lot of the time. The hi-hat-led grooves by Kevin Taylor during this riffage are bouncy, and a staple of their song writing. “Different Strokes” is a fairly safe track, but I do think it serves as a good example of what each of the two vocalists, Matt Burridge and Caleb Taylor, can do, especially on the screaming front with how they build off each other.
The track then transitions nicely into “Run The Ghouls”, which was another teaser single for the album, and more accurately feels like the record’s true intro. You have Kevin Taylor introducing the band and dropping the album title in a lyric, and the mood is great as the vibey instrumental swells like the intro to a live show. This is not the most instrumentally interesting cut present here, but the energy is solid, and as I mentioned, it does a lot of heavy lifting in grabbing the listener’s interest. This is also the first of many instances we are met with Kevin‘s irreverent spoken word style, which crops up often across It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This.
This aspect of their sound is shown even more heavy handedly via the beginning of “Loafers With the White Socks”, wherein Kevin Taylor once again introduces the band, but then goes through all the features on the track, as they then sing a bit of an adlib each in response. It’s clever and fun, as much of this album is, though it can be a bit musically uninteresting at times. Regardless, I like how many voices are on this cut. On the more negative side, I do wish Hansel Romero of Nightlife’s addition was louder, as it seems like the rest of the song is a higher volume, and generally I have a dislike towards the rap verses on this track. They work well for me elsewhere, but on “Loafers…”, they come across as grating, and the lack of a truly unique or interesting instrumental backing to them does not do them any favors.
I’ll mention now that I think this album is very much an album of roughly two halves, with the back half feeling far more impressible and palatable to me, with “Ain’t Got No Ceiling” in particular being a big reason why the first half falls flat. The singing here is more than a little pitchy, the main riff is not catchy, and the track relies on a lot of simple lead guitar additions. It really seems to go on forever, and the brief attempt at a bridge does nothing for the track.
Similarly, “Honesty Honestly” is a simple ballad that lacks any sort of hook or energy, that is, until featured Sierra Binondo (of With Sails Ahead) saves the track with a nice vocal performance that felt like a much-needed change for the track. “Ask A Unc”, however, is a decent change of pace, with a bassline-centric introduction that allows the track to hit the ground running. The guitar licks on the chorus lends it some punch, and the topline is more in Caleb’s range. It’s certainly not my favorite track by any stretch, but conversely it does not do a disservice to the album’s overall sound like some of the aforementioned moments do.
“Take a Look Y’all” is when I think the record really starts to open up, and presents itself as something far more special. The intro of the track hits hard, as a ’90s hip-hop synth beat shakes the speakers. Kevin’s verse is solid, and works with a vibey riff much better than how I mentioned the attempt on “Loafers…” was. Then the feature by Ben Rockwood of Granite State matches the energy of the track with a solid verse. Overall, the track leans even more into the party-hearty post-hardcore aspect of the band that they often like to live in; take for example the lyric of “we’ll rock until the sun come up.” I also really like the screamed bridge on this cut, only adding to the strong repertoire of screamed sections on this album, with each proving energetic and raw in presentation. Kevin comically flexes a bit here, mentioning “Fantano gonna call me up, Pitchwork gonna call me up”, and so on, which ends up being one of the album’s most hilarious and on-brand moments.
The hot streak of the album continues with “Them Phones”, which is a straight up ska banger. Jer Hunter of Skatune Network lays down some trumpet, trombone, and sax, and that venture proves to be a great investment by the band. I also love how the track slows before changing the tempo and pulling off its dancey screamo bridge. Further, as a huge fan of the band Issues, I can’t help but think the lyric “shove it, I rise above it” is a reference to “Flojo” from their 2016 record Headspace, but I have no confirmation of such. This track proves to be an all in all a great vocal performance by Matt Burridge too, and the harmonization being ushered in alongside more electrifying brass makes for a well-written and wholly epic ending.
“Heaven or Helvetica” further makes a solid case for being one of the strongest tracks on the album. It has a moody instrumental intro with down tuned vocals before the track explodes into lots of heavy, dissonant and chaotic moments that are all connected by smart song writing. While the track’s hook relatively lacks in comparison to the rest of itself, the utter strength of the remainder of “Heaven or Helvetica” proves to carry the track more than valiantly without that.
Lastly, the album ends with a duo of tracks, as they are separate on the listing, but whole in sound, themes, and titles. “It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This”, is the best example of the band going softer on the entire album, as it presents the album’s title in a soft yet impactful way. Then “But It Is” truly ends the record. featuring Carson Pace of The Callous Daoboys, a band that is making a case for being one of the more impressive in the scene at the moment. The song has a lo-fi intro, and it largely stays quaint and simple for the first half, but as the second half enters the fold the track opens up with an ethereal riff and well-paced drumming. The vocal additions for a lot of the back half are spoken word, or near so, but I think they fit, and give the track a climactic, conclusive feel. There are also some nice acoustic guitar licks and keys to add to the mood, with the track occuping a similar space in my brain as a something like “Solace” from Invent Animate, proving to be a more than worthy closer.
It makes me happy to see a smaller band like Pulses put out a third full length album; it’s quite a feat. Going into It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This, I was quite excited to get stuck into it, and despite faring a little inconsistent and patchy in places, overall it’s proven to be my favorite release from the band yet. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, too, as the band have shown significant growth and progression here, and I have no doubt that when the post-hardcore unit eventually pen their fourth LP, they’ll stick the landing and truly craft their opus. While this is certainly not that just yet, it seems they are closer than ever before on It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This, which remains and strong and intensely enjoyable post-hardcore romp.
7.5/10
It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This is due for release this Friday, September 29th via self-release, and you can find pre-orders for the record here.