Pulp -- More

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1244572492_16.jpg

So, let's talk.

initially I got cheap tix for their show here in Sept bc I saw them last year but this album is so good that I’m thinking of springing for floor tix

This is wisdom.

Fuck it, sprung for the floor (does anyone want my lawn ticket for the Toronto show? Deeply discounted!!!)

“Got to Have Love” sounds a lot better within the album, thought it was a bit of a dud at first

So far the best spoken word/music break on this is "Farmer's Market" -- takes up the second half of the song and man that's something.

And the Manzanera guitar part on "Got To Have Love" is hitting even harder somehow.

recent bbc show they did included Seconds, Acrylic Afternoons and We Are The Boyz - so could be some fun setlists on this tour that are a little different to last few years

Yeah, they posted that their shows will be “extended” with an interval and no opener, so I’m guessing it will be two sets, the first of their new album, and then the second of old stuff

"Slow Jam" is incredible

xpost - ahhhhh do you think that's what it's going to be? Going next Saturday and saw that post yesterday that said GET THERE EARLY. Guess Ineed to listen to the new album.

Well consider me blindsided. Not that a new Pulp Album is good (of course it would be!) but it addresses growing old in a way that I haven't seen a Gen-X band do. The specifics Cocker gets into are hilarious, heartbreaking, hopeful. I love the production (reminds me of Last Shadow Puppets, naturally), and the songs really lean into that brooding Scott Walker/Stott/Gainsbourg/Vannier vibe that I love so much. Tina, Farmers Market, Slow Jam are all so excellent, but honestly there's not an imperfect moment anywhere. It's all a delight.

this is a bit underwhelming overall. there's all these grand string parts but the arrangements underneath that aren't really enough to support that? it's just a bit bland overall, things don't fit together as well for them as they did at their peak?

Sadly, this judgment is wrong and bad. (More seriously, bland isn’t the word I would use. Questioning comfort seems to be the vibe instead, with the final song being a nice ‘get out of your own head’ touch.)

Blown away. Stands proudly alongside the other classic Pulp records for me.

Initially, I was concerned when I saw some old songs like Got To Have Love and Grown Ups reheated as I thought it might have been a rehash patchwork, but I'm delighted with the end result... it also sounds truly like Pulp and not gloried solo Jarvis (which is obviously fine as its own thing) like I also feared. I also like the fact it feels like the true follow-up to We Love Life and not some non-canon oddity like a reunion record often can be

yup, a listen or so in and I think it's a Pulp album, not Jarvis solo (and I think he often ends up a bit hit or miss, a little lost without the rub and solidity of Pulp), and a good one, and maybe a really unusual album about late middle age, so basically this thing is for me

Nick Banks' drumming appears to be a very essential part - what he brings to the back half of Background Noise definitely sets things apart from Jarv Is etc.

Different Times https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Myron_Wagtail

lol at 1970

"and soon it will be time for some more food" damn

Just ordered this on CD and realized that the gap between We Love Life and More is when I was deep into vinyl. I still buy it but mainly for artists that I already collect on vinyl.

It’s odd how slight his solo stuff felt. There’s lots of good stuff there but it very much feels like an appetizer instead of a main course.

The first album was pretty great, but no Pulp. Hated that 'Cunts' song. So on the nose and artless after everything he'd set up. After then it was merely very charming and OK. Needless to say, no Pulp

I didn't like any of his solo stuff really and that Relaxed Muscle album was so awful. It made me skeptical about this comeback album, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Thankfully it's more on the level as the Suede comeback albums and not the Blur ones.

I still wish that Spike Island had a stronger chorus and the lyrics to My Sex are pretty bad, but I'm enjoying the rest. Tina is my early favourite. Such a pretty melody and it gives me Divine Comedy vibes. Slow Jam, Farmers Market and The Hymn Of The North are all so lovely too. There's a sweetness in some of these ballads that reminds me of Something Changed and the more mellow moments on We Love Life. It's such a comfy album and I'm really happy it exists right now, just like the recent Stereolab one.

The Ballad of Darren is wonderful and I will not hear otherwise

(Produced by James Ford, who also did this new Pulp record!)

The Ballad of Darren is wonderful and I will not hear otherwise

(Produced by James Ford, who also did this new Pulp record!)

Well consider me blindsided. Not that a new Pulp Album is good (of course it would be!) but it addresses growing old in a way that I haven't seen a Gen-X band do.

Growing old has always been one of Pulp's main themes - so I'm not too surprised.

here comes the fear again

ballad of darren is great. i'm not sure I like More as much, but I often don't love Pulp albums when they first come out and come around to them later.

Partial Eclipse sounds like the Twin Peaks theme crossed with Pink Floyd.

Halfway through but this is very strong so far. Definitely in line with their last two albums, great production

This is such a nice surprise, it is really great but no idea why it starts with Spike Island, which seems really quite weak compared to a lot of what follows

Been listening to this a lot over the weekend. Slow Jam is my favourite right now.

this is fab. unexpected 2025 summer jam.

Yeah I'm enjoying this. I've been listening to it all weekend. I particularly like "Farmers Market"

This is such a nice surprise, it is really great but no idea why it starts with Spike Island, which seems really quite weak compared to a lot of what follows

― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz)

This is my thought too. It might be my least favourite song here. It seems so unfinished compared to the rest of the album.

I like it (probably fourth or fifth favourite on the album) but I would agree that the weakness here is the sequencing. Like everything on the LP apart from Background Noise.

Some may disagree. I don't. I think "Spike Island" is one of the weakest tracks

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/review/2025/06/06/pulp-more-review-jarvis-cocker-and-cos-great-bait-and-switch/

had a second listen in the car today, loved it.

This fella also thinks that Spike Island was an inauspicious intro

https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/pulp-more-150009/

Why am I, a supposed adult of some 43 years, listening to new Stereolab and Pulp albums on repeat in 2025? Grow up.

And Saint Etienne in September!

and the new Lil Wayne

Spike Island is kinda like Sorted For E's & Wizz but with 35 years of perspective, which considering Pulp's target audience, is completely relatable.

I think ‘Spike Island’ is a grower and has managed to lodge itself in my head. ‘Got to have love’ I knew was a masterpiece first time I heard it.

i didn't realize people didn't like "spike island." have loved it since i saw them play it live last fall

And Saint Etienne in September!

― Ned Raggett,

Out the same day as the new Suede album!

So basically Tim, you are caught in the eternal cycle of rebirth.

And Luke Haines has a new album out next month.

The closer "A Sunset" kinda reminds me of Silver Jews oddly enough

it made me cry tbh. gotta listen to this again. i like how cocker's vocals are mixed but it doesn't make it easy to suss out the lyrics.

It's funny, because there's a Pink Floyd album called More... and now there's More. That's a pun.

They should get Air to reform and do a remix album called Eel.