PULP - This Is Hardcore - 2LP - Vinyl

2LP - Black Vinyl

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 this ominous, claustrophobic track 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 were always an arty band – but even the catchiest numbers are shrouded in darkness.

This Is Hardcore is haunted by disappointments and fear – by the realisation 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 centrepiece of the album, and the best moments follow its tone.

Tracklist: 

A1        The Fear
A2        Dishes
A3        Party Hard
A4        Help The Aged
A5        This Is Hardcore
B6        TV Movie
B7        A Little Soul
B8        I'm A Man
B9        Seductive Barry
C10      Sylvia
C11      Glory Days
C12      The Day After The Revolution
D13      Tomorrow Never Lies
D14      Laughing Boy
D15      The Professional
D16      This Is Hardcore (End Of The Line Remix)