Pulp

Pulp were one of (if not) the most beloved and successful Britpop bands, and avoided the backlash that hit most other bands when the Britpop era ended, I think largely down to people's love of singer Jarvis Cocker, perhaps the wittiest and most charismatic of any of the Britpop stars.

One common criticism of Britpop was that it was a very middle class scene/movement, and had an air of slumming or class tourism about it, but that was something that didn't really apply to Pulp and something Jarvis Cocker mocked in 'Common People', perhaps another reason why they stayed popular after many other Britpop bands fell from favour.

Pulp had already released four albums before the four listed below, three studio albums and one compilation album. The studio albums, "It", "Freaks" and "Separations", weren't very good, but the compilation album "Intro" (1993), consisting of three singles released by Gift Records was actually pretty decent and a good lead in to "His 'n' Hers".

His 'n' Hers (1994)

I've already written about how much I love this album before, which you can read here. If you can't be bothered to read that, I'll summarise by saying that this is perhaps my favourite ever album and everyone should own it. That is all.

Rating: 5/5

Different Class (1995)

Following the release of lead single 'Common People', Pulp suddenly found themselves to be a mainstream success, over ten years after the release of their first album. The album itself is musically more eclectic and ambitious than "His 'n' Hers", featuring more textured guitar layers and lots of orchestration and a series of killer hit singles including 'Mis-Shapes' and 'Disco 2000'. Personally, I think "His 'n' Hers" is slightly better, though that's not to say that this album isn't also an essential, because it definitely is.

Rating: 5/5

This Is Hardcore (1998)

If any album summed up the end of Britpop, this is it. Dark, brooding, and a little bit all over the place, "This Is Hardcore" is more reflective than previous Pulp albums and has an end of the party feel to it, but with some hints at optimism. Whereas previous albums were musically consistent and flowed well, this album suffers a little from trying to pack many different sounds in, from uptempo electro pop ('Party Hard') to gentle acoustic songs ('A Little Soul'). Consequently, it's a little bit stop-start. It's by no means bad but doesn't quite have the magic of the two preceeding albums.

Rating: 3.5/5

We Love Life (2001)

Pulp's final album is something of a strange affair. Lyrically, I think it harks back more to "His 'n' Hers", with smaller, more focused tales filled with rich details finding some (dark) beauty in the mundane, though it is a lot less sex-obsessed than "His 'n' Hers" was. Musically, it's probably more like a restrained "Different Class", with more acoustic guitars and orchestration. Ultimately, this isn't as good as either of those albums; it lacks a killer song or two to hold the album together, especially in the middle of the album where it does noticeably sag. There are some songs here though, 'Weeds' is thematically like an updated 'Mis-Shapes' and the excellent 'Bad Cover Version', which also has a rather brilliant video featuring lots of celebrity lookalikes which you can see here.

Rating: 3/5