POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Pulnoc Makes L.A. Debut at Al’s Bar

In their original incarnation as the Plastic People of the Universe, members of the Czechoslovakian band Pulnoc spent years in jail throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s for allegedly disturbing the peace with their rock around the Bloc.

That atmosphere of repression has clearly shaped their music. At the band’s Los Angeles debut on Saturday at Al’s Bar, Pulnoc evinced a free-form, angry sound that challenged convention with every note. More often than not tuneless and occasionally atonal as well--and sung in the group’s native tongue--the music nonetheless was insistently appealing, authentic and powerful.

Pulnoc (pronounced POOL-notes) makes no bones about its influences: the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed and more Velvet Underground. The sincerity of its “Sweet Jane,” which seraphic lead singer Michaela Nemcova gallantly sang in clipped English, put the Cowboy Junkies’ to shame. Pulnoc’s own “Song for Nico” didn’t fare quite so well, however; the long, lugubrious jam indulged the worst tendencies of art rock.

By all accounts, this was not Pulnoc at its best. The band, which is on its second U.S. mini-tour, played on despite a persistent squeal from the equipment that lasted for the first third of the show. In addition, the group was limited to a one-hour set with no encore, to accommodate the other two bands on the bill.