Pullman is an American, studio-only,[1] folk and predominantly acoustic rock supergroup,[2] formed in Chicago by Ken Brown, Curtis Harvey, Chris Brokaw, and Doug McCombs in the late 1990s.
[5] Both albums, as Andy Kellman -writing in Allmusic- states, "were conceived in the spirit of the group's favorite acoustic guitarists, including Nick Drake, Leo Kottke, John Fahey, Ry Cooder, and Richard Thompson.
"[11] Franklin Bruno, in his review of the band's debut album in CMJ New Music Monthly, also detects these influences, yet -like Ross- Bruno notices the band's singular take on the form: "Pullman deals in neither [Jim] O'Rourke's layered orchestration nor [John] Fahey's edginess, the live-to-tape recording [instead] nicely capturing the largely subdued playing.
"[13] Critical reception of the band's work has oscillated from the dismissive to the unambiguously praiseful, with the Chicago Tribune declaring Turnstyles & Junkpiles "a disappointing bore",[14] whilst The Wire has referred to the same album as "their excellent debut.
"[16] Giant Robot magazine called Viewfinder "a great album combining some of the best in music",[17] going on to list the band's members, detailing their respective pedigrees, as did Jean-Baptiste Dupin writing for Les Inrockuptibles, describing Pullman "[a]s a land of suburbs, a small garden on the outskirts humbly handset by eight green hands".