Jarvis Cocker of Pulp has always seemingly been a bit like the emcee of the musical Cabaret. There might be a lot going on around them, but they are in total control of the situation and narrating how the scenario is going to work out.
Pulp has been grouped with the Britpop bands of the 1990s, but only because the Sheffield band made their bones in the 1980s and became pop sensations in the 1990s. Cocker and his mates were never truly about Britpop, though.
They owe more to Elvis Costello and disco than their presumed brethren, Oasis or Blue, ever did. Oasis was a rock band, Blur toyed with rock while being more pop, while Pulp just kind of sounded, well...different.
Pulp produces more greatness with More
Much of this is due to Cocker himself, of course. His delivery is more 1950s than 1990s, and yet he is fully confident in what he does and knows no other way. That's brilliant, and as it should be, and younger vocalists should mirror what he does.
Still, the band took 24 years off from making studio albums. They released the one-off here and there, and Cocker did a few solo projects, but Pulp is their own thing. As good as Cocker is by himself, he needs the rest of the band to rein him in a bit.
On their latest (and likely last) album, More, which was released on June 6, we get Pulp as if they had never left us after Different Class. Cocker gives us lyrical dioramas, the band plays excellently, and we get a fully-fleshed Pulp record that switches from the Nick Cave of "Farmers Market" to the full-on rock-pop of opener "Spike Island."
"Tina" is pure disco, even up to the background vocals. It might be a throwaway track except for Cocker's commitment to the words. "My Sex" is rightfully an older gentleman's retrospective of Different Class's "Live Bed Show."
The record ends with more spatial and retrospective songs. They are not unhopeful, however. Possibly, the energy of being 25 no longer lingers, but tracks such as closer "A Sunset" might be more meaningful and truthful (though with a bit too much reliance on a certain Coke ad).
The entire album is a reflection, and a glorious one, tinged with the realities of death. Since the band's last studio album, 2001's We Love Life, Cocker's mother has passed away, as has long-time bassist Steve Mackey. Cocker was inspired by these events to get the band back together and record more before time runs out on everything.
The real gift is to music fans, of course. Pulp has always been unique, even if not as universally beloved as Oasis. That is more of an indictment on us than Cocker and the rest. They have proven once again that they are worthy of being heard, even if this is the end.