The world has been bereft of new Pulp music for nearly a quarter century, but the beloved Sheffield, U.K.-reared, Jarvis Cocker-fronted band couldn’t have chosen a more apropos time to return than when life on Earth seems like one big, never-ending WTF. On More (Rough Trade), the wordplay is wondrous (“Grown Ups” rhymes “vicar” with “knickers,” as in, getting into someone’s…), the bon mots about socio-economic theory and thrift shop quickies are stiletto sharp, and the James Ford-produced music is stronger and more vibrant than any 47-year-old band could reasonably be expected to conjure at this stage of the game.
At 61, Cocker can still expertly unspool familiar vignettes with astonishing depth and detail, making you feel like you’re riding shotgun while the narrators party hearty amid all the modern-day nonsense (the classic uptempo Pulp of opener “Spike Island”), recognize kindred spirits recovering from the flesh wounds of life during chance encounters in a parking lot (“Farmers Market”), and try to get busy by any means and in any place necessary, even if the resulting encounters are purely in their own heads (“Tina”).
More from Spin:
- 40 Years Ago, R.E.M.’s ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’ Marked a Darker Tone for the Band
- Röyksopp’s Freedom Frequency
- New Book Explores How ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Changed Everything
More is populated by some of Cocker’s signature creations, such as the hapless obsessive who has been fantasizing about “Tina” for more than 14 years and even once bought her an engagement ring. Sure, he can rattle off minutiae about her ever-changing outfits and hairstyles, but he’s never even bothered to introduce himself, and ultimately realizes he and Tina are only “really good together because we never meet.” The same narrator has apparently forgotten about this magical being on “Grown Ups,” but now he instead worries “about wrinkles instead of acne” while wasting his life on the Internet and Uber Eats.
You can almost envision the crumpled Burger King wrappers under that fellow’s sofa, but thankfully, More is not exclusively about failure to launch. These sad sack protagonists glimpse some rare daylight on sweet, honest songs such as “Farmers Market” (“Are these groceries really that important? More important than getting your number? Or finding out who you actually are?,” Cocker wonders in a song inspired by how he met his real-life wife) and the absolutely gorgeous, string-powered “Partial Eclipse,” where a seduction gone awry leads the subject to necessary realizations about his dirty mug-and-mismatched socks existence.
With matters of the flesh still high on the agenda, the essence of Pulp circa 2025 is best distilled on “Slow Jam,” a bass-led bop with alluring string accompaniment. Here, Cocker again makes something obtuse sound like the sexiest one-liner ever whispered: “Come on, let’s have a threesome, baby / You, me, and my imagination.” A boy can dream, can’t he?
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
