Album Review: Pullman - "III"

After 25 years, the Chicago post rock supergroup return with their third effort. III still has the quiet hypnotic approach but this time there are even more layers, flashes of brightness, noise, and rhythms than ever before.

Western Vinyl - 2026

Pullman is a supergroup from the era of early post rock days in Chicago and is one full of history. The band consists of Doug McCombs and Ken Brown of Tortoise, Curtis Harvey of Rex, Chris Brokaw of Codeine and Come, and Tim Barnes who has drummed for the late David Berman's Silver Jews as well as Jim O'Rourke. Pullman reach (or should I say "pull") for much of the quieter, subtle, and minimal side of post rock, folk, and Americana. With two albums, Turnstyles & Junkpiles in 1998 and Viewfinder in 2001, both through Chicago's Thrill Jockey label, Pullman haven't been active in over 25 years. Now they're back out of the woodwork with a third album fittingly titled III out on Western Vinyl. The band have exclusively been a studio group and don't perform much live together (except outside of their other projects) and wanted to continue doing so here with this new album. What started out being as a collaboration between Barnes and Brown became a Pullman record, pulling in the rest of the band's members for help. Before working on the record, Barnes announced publicly that he has early onset Alzheimer's at age 54 and when listening to the record, Barnes still performs at a technically well level and it's great to see how music can bring people together for the better.

The group's first record, Turnstyles & Junkpiles, embraced live to tape instrumentation from a more acoustic setting, while their second album Viewfinder became more varied with percussion and layers of sound. III still has the quiet hypnotic approach but this time there are even more layers, flashes of brightness, noise, and rhythms than ever before. The album opens with the short "Bray," which fully envelopes the listener with layered lo-fi noise that's so seamless it becomes ambient. It's the perfect opener and taster for a type of record like III. "Weightless" truly lives up to its title with its airy, breezy guitar twangs, fluttery bass lines, and it's layered in a way that's technicolor and dreamlike. I love the ever morphing instrumentation that shines like the early morning sun. "Thirteen" is more acoustically driven and throughout its eight minutes, it touches on some of the best guitar work on the album, reminiscent of some of the brightest moments from their debut album. It does take its time to finish, where the final two minutes of the song fade out at an almost glacial pace. It might not work for other types of albums but for a Pullman album, it certainly works. "October" is the most patient at thirteen minutes in length (not to be confused with the eight minute long song titled "Thirteen") and it is arguably the album's most rewarding. There's a slow progression that continues to be all the dreamy and all the ethereal with swirling guitar loops, distorted guitar, and what sounds like crickets chirping. "Kabul" closes the album with more complex guitar playing and folky percussion, interwoven within the dreamy ambient instrumentation.

III marks an impressive feat for many reasons and for one, the band still has chops for virtuosic playing and recording. It sounds beautifully produced and mixed and at over thirty minutes in runtime, you'll be enticed to replay the album again for another listen. 25 years is a long absence in between album releases and yet Pullman return at full force with this solid collection of pieces that flow together pretty seamlessly like their previous records.

My Rating: 8 / 10

Favorite Songs: "Weightless," "October," "Thirteen," "Kabul"