Pullman, a supergroup created from Chicago’s post rock scene in the late nineties, brought together members of Tortoise and Come, among others. The lineup featured Ken “Bundy K.” Brown (Tortoise/Directions in Music), Curtis Harvey (Rex), Chris Brokaw (Come), and Doug McCombs (Tortoise/Eleventh Dream Day), later joined by drummer Tim Barnes, who completed the group’s core formation.
Their debut on Thrill Jockey, Turnstyles & Junkpiles (1998), was a quiet, live-to-2-track recording marked by delicately interwoven guitars. The followup, Viewfinder (2001), broadened their sonic range with layered percussion, subtle electric tones, and refined multi-track production.
More than twenty years later, Pullman return with III, an album shaped by intimacy and perseverance. Due out January 9th, 2026 via Western Vinyl, it’s introduced by the richly textured single Weightless, a stunning piece that captures both the band’s refined musicianship and deep emotional resonance.
In 2021, Tim Barnes revealed his diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 54. Despite his illness, he and Brown began working together almost daily, often remotely, collaborating with a wide circle of musicians from Barnes’s past. It started as a small contribution for a compilation and with time it evolved into a full Pullman album, recorded between 2021 and 2023.
III preserves Pullman’s signature warmth and spaciousness while embodying the spirit of community that has always been present in their music.
ZR