Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane? No, It’s Pulp and They’re Back With More.
There are comebacks… and then there’s Pulp. The band just got back in with a new record and it’s like they never left. Our millennial hearts were note prepared but certainly up for it!
Why Pulp Still Hits Different
For anyone who came of age in the 90s or early 2000s, Pulp is iconic. Led by the charismatic and deliciously awkward Jarvis Cocker, this Britpop band is known for its clever social commentary and its irresistible odd synth-pop grooves.
Pulp spent the 90s dissecting difference, class anxiety, sex, boredom, and the beauty of being different. Back in the day, we had so much love for the albums Different Class and This Is Hardcore because they spoke to all of us who didn’t quite know where they fit.
For us millennials, Pulp allowed us to be proud outsiders. So, yeah, they are therapy-level important.
Is More a good comeback album?
24 years after their last record, Pulp released More, and everyone’s heart exploded. The name alone sets the tone in a very sober yet witty way.
The band got back right when we needed them. Right from the first track, the fabulous Spike Island, you’re reminded of everything that made Pulp great and why no one has truly taken their place. This is, indeed, a classic Pulp song, cheerful yet sarcastic.
More gives us more wit, more existential angst, more Jarvis Cocker being… Jarvis Cocker. The lyrics are sharp, cheeky, and still marvelously funny. Though many Gen Z think sarcasm has aged out of relevance, More proves it only gets better with time.
Our top picks? Spike Island and Got to Have Love are instant classics that will get you dancing in no time. The odd Tina is the kind of storytelling only Cocker can pull off. The lingering Partial Eclipse also stole our hearts.
Musically, the album is two-faced but in a good way. There are bright, toe-tapping bops at the beginning, and then suddenly you’re hit with a wave of crushing nostalgia. When we first discovered this record, at a listening party, we felt like the second part of the album was nothing but a succession of closure songs. Most people in the room agreed. But, though the songs are slow-paced, they’re also brightly made and touching.
What ties it all together is the honesty. Pulp isn’t trying to sound young again. They have aged with style and self-awareness. They’re mature but never boring. Emotional with just the right amount of drama. And somehow… still hot.
More is a brilliant continuation of a conversation started decades ago. Jarvis and his band know who they are and are just happy to do more of it. The magic is still very much alive. And yes, we need more. But first, cake.
