Review: Pulp – More

On More, we’re reminded of their enduring appeal, endless class and anthemic charm - this is a comeback well worth celebrating.

Forget Blur and Oasis! Pulp are arguably the most important band of the Britpop era. Certainly the most interesting and critically adored. An outfit who rallied against any perception the ‘90s British guitar landscape was just about two bands.

Pulp’s reputation has only grown in the decades since. Their tunes are long an indie disco stapple and Different Class (1995) now spoken as one of the British greats: Pitchfork even declared it the best Britpop album of all time in 2017. And who can blame them? Despite their fifth album featuring a strong whiff of uncool, outsider-ship, it delivered some of the biggest and memorable anthems of that period. The trump card being, of course, ‘Common People’ - an era-defining take on class tourism which delivered Britpop’s most iconic live moment at Glastonbury.

The Sheffield band’s popularity – like Britpop itself - diminished after this cultural peak, however. Pulp’s next two albums – 1998’s gloomy This is Hardcore and existentialism on 2001’s We Love Life – weren’t quite received as warmly and off they soon departed. When a 2011/12 reunion tour only brought the underwhelming single ‘After You’ in the new music stakes, it was fully expected we’d seen the end of the Sheffield outfit for good.

Or perhaps not. Fast forward a decade and Pulp reformed once again for another round of festival headlining and nostalgic performances. And in April this year, they delivered the news we had all been waiting for: their first album in 24 years was on its way. Hurrah!

Now the album has finally been released, the question remains: is More worth the near two and a half decade wait? We’re delighted to state that the answer is yes!

On More, the customary wit and theatrical charisma that made Pulp a household name remains. Simply put, the record’s charm and immediacy echoes their mid-‘90s heyday and, most impressively, their songwriting prowess develops. This isn’t just a nostalgia-fest but one proving the band's contemporary relevance 30 years on from their imperial phase.

The impetus for creating new music arrived during their 2023 tour. By November 2024, they entered Walthamstow studio with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Fontaines D.C.) to create album number eight. They did things a little differently for this one. The words and music were all written prior to these sessions, allowing a revigorated Pulp required focus to get the job done quicker than before. Only three weeks were spent recording More: the shortest time spent on an album yet - a feat Jarvis Cocker attributes to not just maturity but the lack of football tables in the studio!

Opener ‘Spike Island’ is reminiscent and majestic: as glorious a comeback anthem as you could expect from Pulp. “The universe shrugged, shrugged and moved on” suggests the 61-year-old singer, referencing the ambivalence the band’s disbanding was greeted with back in 2002. Today, he feels more confident about his band’s future, “And by the way, oh, it's time I'll get it right”, while reminding us of his frontman calling: “I was born to perform…I exist to do this, shouting and pointing”. Candida Doyle’s synth lines glitter gloriously in the background, the track building to an emphatic chorus that name checks Stone Roses chaotic 1990 gig on the River Mersey.

Cocker is in similarly reflective mood on chirpy third track ‘Grown Ups’. “So you move from Camden out to Hackney / And you stress about wrinkles instead of acne” he admits while pondering the last few decades. Like ‘Spike Island’ however, the Pulp frontman remains energised for the future, seeking “one last sunset, one final blaze of glory”.

There’s a heavy Scott Walker influence on More which adds orchestral class throughout. On ‘Tina’, Cocker goes back 40 years, exploring youthful days of romantic longing over a girl he never found the courage to speak to. The track is aided beautifully by swirling orchestrations, heavy melodrama and a customary phrase turn that won’t fail but raise a smile. Meanwhile, the strings on ‘Farmers Market’ bring elegance to a tale of marketplace romance and ‘Partial Eclipse’ is so blissful you’ll feel as if you’re floating in the clouds.

The best aspect to this return is its adaptability, packed with entertaining twists and turns from start to finish. ‘Slow Jam’ is funky, ominous and full of religious iconography (“'Cause I'm the resurrection man” declares Cocker), the earwormy ‘Got to Have Love’ sounds like a poppier, more rousing cousin of Different Class’ ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E’, while the gorgeous ‘Background Noise’ is a future arm waving live favourite.

This record was never going to not leave on a bang. ‘The Hymn of the North’ is mystifying and grand, a swirling epic penultimate ballad, followed by the calm of ‘A Sunset’; a finale successfully bringing the sun down on a prosperous new day in the life of one of Britain’s most cherished outfits.

With Suede’s recent work being amongst their best and Blur’s 2023 album The Ballad of Darren going down a critical treat, the second age of Britpop has certainly been a fruitful time for bands romanticised in the mid-90s. And we can now add Pulp to that list. On More, we’re reminded of their enduring appeal, endless class and anthemic charm. 24 years after their last, this is a comeback well worth celebrating. More of this please, Pulp.

9/10