Lifter Puller

{{Short description|American indie rock band}}

{{Not to be confused with|Lifter (band)}}

{{More footnotes|date=September 2012}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Lifter Puller

| background = group_or_band

| image = Lifter_Puller.jpg

| caption =

| origin = Minneapolis, United States

| genre = Indie rock, post-punk

| years_active = 1994–2000, 2002, 2003, 2015, 2016

| label = Skene, No Alternative, Threatening Letters, Frenchkiss Records, The Self-Starter Foundation

| associated_acts = The Hold Steady

| website = [http://www.lftrpllr.com lftrpllr.com]

| current_members = Craig Finn
Steve Barone
Tad Kubler
Dan Monick

| past_members = Tommy Roach
Dave Gerlach

}}

Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 1980s revival trends of the early 2000s.{{cite web|author=Michaelangelo Matos |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0240,matos,38876,22.html |title=Nice Nice Guys Finish Last - Page 1 - Music - New York |publisher=Village Voice |date=2002-10-01 |accessdate=2012-09-18}}

The band released three LPs and an EP before breaking up in the summer of 2000. In 2002, the compilation Soft Rock was released, featuring nearly every song in the Lifter Puller catalogue, excluding their final album, Fiestas and Fiascos, and the songs "Prescription Sunglasses", "Emperor", "Slips Backwards," and "Bitchy Christmas," as well as the original version of "Nassau Colisseum," the b-side to the "Slips Backwards" single.

After several years out of print, all of the original Lifter Puller records were re-issued digitally with bonus tracks in December 2009. These reissues were accompanied by a limited-edition book entitled Lifter Puller vs. The End of.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/37089-pre-hold-steady-band-lifter-puller-remembered-with-reissue-series-book/ |title=Pre-Hold Steady Band Lifter Puller Remembered With Reissue Series, Book | News |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2009-11-11 |accessdate=2012-09-18}}

Singer/guitarist Craig Finn and bassist Tad Kubler are now members of The Hold Steady, which continues to explore some of the lyrical themes established by Lifter Puller while eschewing the art punk sound{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} of the prior band in favor of a sound more akin to classic-rock revivalism.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

In 2003, the band reunited for three sold out shows for the opening of the Triple Rock Social Club in their hometown of Minneapolis.

File:Lifter Puller - First Avenue Star.jpgLifter Puller has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,{{cite web |url=http://first-avenue.com/about/thestars |title=The Stars |author= |date= |website=First Avenue & 7th Street Entry |publisher= |access-date=2020-05-10 |archive-date=2020-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418135117/https://first-avenue.com/about/thestars |url-status=dead }} recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.{{cite news |last=Bream |first=Jon |url=https://www.startribune.com/10-things-you-ll-learn-about-first-avenue-in-new-minnesota-history-center-show/509374312/ |title=10 things you'll learn about First Avenue in new Minnesota History Center show |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota |date=2019-05-03 |accessdate=2020-05-10 }} Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.{{cite news |last=Marsh |first=Steve |url=http://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/first-avenue-star-wall/ |title=First Avenue's Star Wall |work=Mpls.St.Paul Magazine |location=Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota |date=2019-05-13 |accessdate=2020-05-10 }} Kubler and Finn's subsequent group The Hold Steady also has a star.

The band reunited on July 4, 2015, in Minneapolis at the Triple Rock Social Club at Dillinger Four's annual "D4th of July" event for an eight-song set. On September 2, 2016, they reunited again to support Atmosphere at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. On December 3, 2016, Lifter Puller opened for The Hold Steady at The Brooklyn Bowl on the final of a four-night series of shows commemorating the tenth anniversary of the album Boys and Girls In America.