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Pulp: Spike Island review – Jarvis Cocker and co’s joyous second coming
The anthemic lead single from the band’s first album in 24 years casts a wary eye over their peak 90s fame – but also suggests that performing is irresistible
Of all the alt-rock artists hoisted to mainstream fame in the Britpop era, they were the ones who seemed least comfortable with the kind of attention it brought them: a perennially ignored band who’d spent a decade striving to get somewhere, only to find they didn’t much like it when they did. References to 1970s pop-culture arcana are, of course, very Pulp – and so are a lot of other things about Spike Island: the disco-influenced rhythm (decorated with the distinctive sound of syndrums), the brief spoken-word section, and the sense that complicated emotions lurk behind its anthemic chorus. Whether Pulp’s forthcoming album More goes on to attain the same degree of acclaim as Blur’s The Ballad of Darren remains to be seen, but, for now, as attested by the excited texts pouring in after Spike Island was premiered on BBC Radio 6 Music, fans are likely to be delighted.
Or read this on The Guardian
