The Pulsars was a new wave/indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois, led by Dave Trumfio and his brother, Harry Trumfio. They signed to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss's Almo Sounds label and recorded two albums in the mid-1990s, one of which was released and another that has yet to be released.
History The band comprised the brothers Dave and Harry Trumfio, with Harry on drums and Dave producing, singing and playing all of the other instruments.Molanphy, Chris (1997) "Pulsars / Pulsars", CMJ New Music Monthly, May 1997, p.12 The brothers had played together in bands since they were at school, and recorded at home. Trumfio named his synthesizers and electronic gear 'Theodore 9000', which he described as "the third member of our band", and the brothers considered 'T9000' as the name of the band before deciding on the Pulsars.Strauss, Neil (1997) "Nerdy White Boys", SPIN, May 1997, p. 28-9, retrieved 2012-01-08 Dave Trumfio had previously played in Ashtray Boy and the Mekons.Anderson, Lydia (1996) "The Pulsars", CMJ New Music Monthly, November 1996, retrieved 2012-01-08
The Pulsars' first release was the Teenage Nites EP, on the Sweet Pea Records label in 1995. The EP was recorded at Chicago's Kingsize studio and contained “Owed to a Devil,” “Amb. 1 (153 Drive-in),” “Silicon Teens (Full Chord Version)” and “Amb. 2 (Teenage Nites).”
They were then signed to Almo Sounds in a 2.5 million, three-album deal,Kening, Dan (1996) "Rising stars The Trumfio brothers are ready to shine with a record deal and an upcoming Pulsars' album", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights), November 29, 1996,Kot, Greg (1996) "Pulsars' Star Just Beginning To Sparkle", Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1996, retrieved 2012-01-08 with their first release for the label being the five-track Submission to the Master EP, on which label-boss Alpert contributed trumpet.
The band's self-titled debut album was released on Almo Sounds in 1997, and was described as "an album that's in the moment, behind the times, and looking to the future", with influences from the early 1980s. However, critic Ritchie Unterberger viewed the band's sound as "considerably more enjoyable and warm" than their 1970s and 1980s influences, describing the album as "pleasant, catchy retro-new wave". SPINs Eric Weisbard described the album's songs as "amazingly confident, catchy anthems".Weisbard, Eric (1997) "Pulsars Pulsars", SPIN, April 1997, p.155-6, retrieved 2012-01-08 In the view of Trouser Press writer Ira Robbins:
Several of the band's lyrics dealt with futuristic topics such as robots, spaceships, and aliens. The debut album included "Tunnel Song", which was described as "a romantic ballad about the great highway tunnels of America", and "My Pet Robot", a love song to Theodore 9000. The band's sound has been described as "a schizoid patchwork of synth-pop, new wave and R&B". The band was compared with Pixies by Allmusic writer Nitsuh Abebe,Abebe, Nitsuh "Submission to the Masters Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08 and was likened to the Cars and the Cure by USA Today'''s Edna Gundersen.Gundersen, Edna (1997) "Pulsars' spaced-out debut; Fleming's expansive Schubert", USA Today, April 15, 1997, P. 4D (LIFE section) The band's live shows included dub interludes.
The band was described as "Chicago's pre-eminent new wave revival band" by the Chicago Reader,Unterberger, Ritchie (1999) Music USA: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides, , p. 272-3 and "profoundly great" by Trouser Press.
The band split up before their second album was completed, with Dave Trumfio become increasingly busy with production work, but reunited for a one-off performance in 2009 at the Bell House in Brooklyn.Pearis, Bill (2009) "Pulsars reuniting for one Brooklyn show w/ Field Music, Wye Oak & "Rumours" (++ other tour dates & stuff)", brooklynvegan.com, November 13, 2009, retrieved 2012-01-08 The brothers reportedly had plans to complete the second Pulsars album, and were working again under the name Our Future.
On April 1, 2021, the Pulsars' Twitter and Facebook accounts announced the release of Lost Transmissions'', a 15 track collection of rare and unreleased songs, available for pre-order through Bandcamp. It was released on August 1.
Members Dave Trumfio – vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming Harry Trumfio – drums, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
Discography
Albums
Year Release Reference 1997Pulsars Label: Almo Sounds Date: March 252021Lost Transmissions Label: Tiny Global Productions Date: August 1
Singles/EPs
Year Release Reference 1995Teenage Nites EP Label: Sweet Pea Format: 7-inch 1996Submission to the Master EP Label: Almo Date: October 8 Format: CD1997"Tunnel Song" Label: Almo Date: February 18 Format: 12-inch"Suffocation" Label: Almo (UK) Date: August 31 Format: 7-inchInland Empire EP Label: Almo (Japan) Date: December 17 Format: CD1998"Suffocation" Label: Almo (UK) Date: November 3 Format: CD
References
External links [ The Pulsars at AllMusic.com] The Pulsars Myspace Review of the Pulsars' Submission to the Master The Pulsars on Machine Talk