Billboard Style's 'Pull of the Moon' Is a Fuzz-Drowned Masterpiece of Two-Person Maximalism
Paste calls Billboard Style a “supergroup” and then immediately notes it is “just two people.” Ben Guterl (Forth Wanderers) and Dan Howard (Victoryland) met over a decade ago at a Maryland house show, recorded together for years as Ben Special, and have now put eleven songs out on Good English Records under a new name. Guterl’s framing: “a pretty honest glimpse into my quarter life crisis or Saturn return or whatever you want to call it.” Hence the title.
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: on the title track the band describes a tune “anchored by an earworm riff on top of headbang-inviting bass and drums” — riff first, rhythm section pushed forward, no apology. Stereogum heard it as “a bashed-out, distortion-shrouded guitar-pop tune with phenomenal hooks.” The Spatial Dynamics: Howard produced at his own Chateau Grand Studios in Brooklyn, and the room’s limits are the aesthetic. Paste hears “guitars smeared in fuzz, drums shoved into the red,” with “breakdowns drowned in fuzz.” Howard’s own summary: “It’s very DIY.” The counterweight is “I Am a Man,” a romantic waltz the duo say is “driven by fizzy synths and crooning guitar tones.”
Standout Performance
Howard. He drums, he produces, he runs the room — and on this record he started writing more and singing lead, which is a lot of hats to add at once. Guterl says he’s learned to get out of the way: “I’m less protective of the songs I bring Dan.”
Why It’s Certified
Because the dynamic range is real. Paste tracks the album moving from “stripped-back, sweet ballads” to full-throated fuzz, with “hooks that claw into your skin and make a home there” and “a keening desperation for everything and for nothing at all that feels almost tangible” — then lands on the line that settles it: “a huge win for anyone even mildly interested in indie rock.” The Spill Magazine, scoring it an 8, credits the duo with “spreading their musical wings over a number of rock genres” while keeping the songwriting out front. “Jelly” earns its keep as the record’s quiet one, a breakup ballad that starts nearly demo-bare and arrives fully dressed.