Review
Pusher
Pusher

Auxiliary (2007) Bob

Pusher – Pusher cover artwork
Pusher – Pusher — Auxiliary, 2007

Pusher hails from Louisville and features an impressive cast of ex-members as Steve Sindoni (vocals) comes to the band after handling vocals in Breather Resist and Matt Jaha (drums) comes from his former drumming duties in Black Cross and Coliseum. Unfortunately this release is a posthumous document of a short-lived group that just could not keep it together, but at least we have this eleven-song and roughly twelve-minute document with which to remember them.

"And We're Off" immediately reminds me of a noisier version of Municipal Waste with much different vocals. "Dirty Dream Guilt" and "Dull.Dull.Dull." only continue to reinforce this reminder. It takes the strange main guitar riff for "In His Image" to give the proceedings a bit of a change; and honestly, it is a bit unsettling and unexpected. "Nail Splitter" has some different guitar sounds that kind of disrupt this initial impression of Pusher.

The noise level and the album as a whole picks up by the time "Cronenberg" rolls around for a listen. The beginning is real odd when compared to the rest of the album; the music does this weird lurch before slamming into a fast-paced tempo that slows during the later part of the song. It makes a big difference in giving some variety to the CD. "Snowflakes" goes a long way to distinguishing itself as well with its real odd progression from snare rolls to noisy spoken word parts backed by discordant guitars and a pronounced, walking or rolling bass line. "Scapehole" and "Don't Cry Messiah" are everything that I was expecting of this record; lots of angular, noisy guitar riffs and pounding rhythms.

The packaging concept on this release is awesome; it has a cardboard "case" that is silk-screened inside and out. The cover art is pretty neat and looks real sharp, while the lyrics and other text are printed inside the cardboard sleeve. From the way the cardboard opens to bring the full artwork into view to the color choice to the basic presentation, this Pusher CD is pretty impressive as I have never seen anything done in this way before now.

Pusher may yet prove to be one of those "documents in time" that touches on a myriad of sounds and techniques that are going on in the current underground music scene. At present, it is an interesting record that has some real gems on it, and it is packaged in a neat way that represents the sounds within in some indiscernible way (it is just a feeling you get when you hold it in your hands). Pusher may have been hitting on something that might have had an impact on the underground music scene, but unfortunately, we will never know.

7.0 / 10Bob • December 12, 2007

Pusher – Pusher cover artwork
Pusher – Pusher — Auxiliary, 2007

Related news

Recently-posted album reviews

Dead Bars

All Dead Bars Go To Heaven
Iodine (2025)

Dead Bars has a unique talent of taking the everyday, the experiences you see and live all the time, and shining a new light on them to make them personal and interesting. I've written about it before, yet it's my job to say this again and to make it interesting. It's what Dead Bars does, so it only seems fitting … Read more

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more

Painkiller

The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more