Paulson – Variations / 2004 Initial / 10 Tracks / http://www.paulsonisaband.com / http://www.initialrecords.com / Reviewed 20 October 2004

Starting out with “Diaryland”, a track that is as scary as any ambient track from a Halloween-themed CD, Paulson creates a brooding atmosphere that only gets more intense as the track builds up. Finally breaking into some semblance of vocals two minutes into the track, Logan’s vocals still act in an instrumental way. Reminiscent of Incubus’ oddly-arranged style of drumming, “A Great pretending” uses that same brooding nature to make Logan’s vocals seem that much more light. Pissing away the hard-hitting power of the beginning of “A Great Pretending” only to build a new foundation on a keyboard/guitar dynamic, Paulson finds itself on shaky ground during “Convertible”. “Convertible” is a non-descript track that draws heavily on the previous tracks during “Variations”, which makes sense as Variations on a piece usually include the original reference point and minor changes to it. Finally coming into their own during “Nightfall”, Paulson create a track that has the bass tautly strung and omnipresent through the track, creating a vocal presence just like Logan’s instrumental presence on the first track.

The entirety of “Variations” shows Paulson sliding into a rut with each following track. Their cover of “My Funny Valentine” is the height of tedium, lacking energy just as much as it lacks heart. “The Hard Way” has the same staggered drum beat that peppers itself through the disc, and while it has a quicker tempo than much of the fare on the disc, it does not contribute much to creating an experimental nature for Paulson. “Optimism Is For Stupid Idiots” is a late-minute rebound for Paulson, mixing perfectly slow/fast tempos to drive the track to its end. Finishing up the disc with “Feast or Famine”, Paulson finds the perfect formula to again make a radio-friendly and uptempo track that showcases the dynamic between Alex’s bass and Logan’s vocals.

Paulson shows on “Variations” that they do have the ability to create tracks that are intense and relatively free from cliché. However, “Variations” is full of a lackadaisical bend in the band that has them not achieve up to what their talent level would allow. No doubt that in the future, Paulson could shuck this dead weight and just go in the direction of “Nightfall” or “Feast Or Famine”. However, this disc only shines bright a few times, rarely enough that I would just have to recommend waiting for their next EP or CD.

Top Tracks: Feast or Famine, Nightfall

Rating: 4.3/10