This Is Hardcore

by Pulp

Overview

"This is the sound of someone losing the plot/you're gonna like it, but not a lot." So says Jarvis Cocker on "The Fear," the opening track on This Is Hardcore, the ambitious follow-up to Pulp's breakthrough Different Class, thereby providing his own review for the album. Cocker doesn't quite lose the plot on This Is Hardcore, but the ominous, claustrophobic "The Fear" makes it clear that this is a different band, one that no longer has anthems like "Common People" in mind. The shift in direction shouldn't come as a surprise -- Pulp was always an arty band -- but even the catchiest numbers are shrouded in darkness. This Is Hardcore is haunted by disappointments and fear -- by the realization that what you dreamed of may not be what you really wanted. Nowhere is this better heard than on "This Is Hardcore," where drum loops, lounge piano, cinematic strings, and a sharp lyric create a frightening monument to weary decadence. It's the centerpiece of the album, and the best moments follow its tone. Some, like "The Fear," "Seductive Barry," and "Help the Aged," wear their fear on their sleeves, some cloak it in Bowie-esque dance grooves ("Party Hard") or in hushed, resigned tones ("Dishes"). A few others, such as the scathing "I'm a Man" or "A Little Soul," have a similar vibe without being explicitly dark. Instead of delivering an entirely bleak album, Pulp raise the curtain somewhat on the last three songs, but the attempts at redemption -- "Sylvia," "Glory Days," "The Day After the Revolution" -- don't feel as natural as everything that precedes them. It's enough to keep the album from being a masterpiece, but it's hardly enough to prevent it from being an artistic triumph. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2015
Label:	Imports
UPC:	0602547866516
Rank:	25397

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Pulp   Primary Artist
Neneh Cherry   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jackie Rawe   Vocals (Background)
Carol Kenyon   Vocals (Background)
Anne Dudley   Piano
Jarvis Cocker   Vocals
Peter Thomas   Sampling
Chris Thomas   Piano
Peter Saville   Director
Mandy Bell   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Chris Thomas   Producer,Producer
Steve Mackey   Composer
Patrick Doyle   Composer,Composer
Antony Genn   Composer
Russell Senior   Composer
Magnus Fiennes   Programming
Pulp   Composer,String Arrangements
Neneh Cherry   Performer
Nick Banks   Composer
Matthew Vaughan   Programming
Olle Romo   Programming
Nicholas Dodd   Orchestration
Lorraine Francis   Assistant Engineer
Anne Dudley   String Arrangements
Miti   Engineer
Candida Doyle   Composer
Jarvis Cocker   Composer
Jay Reynolds   Assistant Engineer
Pete Lewis   Engineer
Peter Thomas   Composer,Engineer,Composer
Mark Webber   Composer
Mackey   Composer
Mark Haley   Programming
Howard Wakefield   Design
Peter Thomas Sound Orchester   Sample Source
Genn   Composer