Jarvis Cocker is/was the lead singer of Pulp, the pioneering Brit-Pop band from the 80s and 90s. I will admit that I don’t know much about Pulp or Jarvis Cocker other than that I liked much of Pulp’s music, but there were other Brit-Pop bands I liked more and so more or less ignored them. Jarvis Cocker has always liked to push people’s buttons. To come across as difficult and maybe standoffish. It’s his often hilarious antics and statements to the press (and in his music) that I always appreciate, more so now than ever before.
His newest album, …Beyond the Pale, to my ears, feels like classic Cocker. There are touches of Bowie here, as to be expected, and lyrical wordplay with a lot of wit and substance, such as on another favorite on the album, “Swanky Modes.”
I can resist gentrification
But I cannot resist temptation
You’re carrying a basket when I next caught your eye
A glint behind the clutter of a shop-soiled life
Surely you could miss your appointment
I’ll try not to be one more disappointment
I think he called himself Jarv Is because it was supposed to be a live album or something and then he wasn’t happy with the recordings and so went back and reworked them so that they are more studio compositions. I can’t tell any of that from listening to this. I just hear fun, clever songs, with unique arrangements, smart, snarky lyrics and a sound that feels fresh even as it echoes back to older Pulp sounds.
My favorite of Beyond The Pale’s 7 songs is the lethargic dance tune, “House Music All Night Long.” It’s got some house-like synths that propel the song forward, but it’s sort of wistful at the same time. It’s got a cool groove, but I’m not sure it’s gonna set the club on fire. It’s very hypnotic and the background vocals really give it just the right touch. Here he references George Clinton and Funkadelic, adding in his patented creepy/sexy vibe.
Saturday night, cabin fever in house nation
This is one nation under a roof
Ain’t that the truth?
Goddamn this claustrophobia
‘Cause I should be disrobing ya
I found myself dancing in my chair as I wrote this, swaying my head and shoulders to and fro, similar to the dancers in the video but maybe a little bit faster. If I had the right drugs, I could see getting up and moving my whole body to it, all night long.
Fuzzys Warbles 