Pulp - "Different Class" (1995)

 

As I mentioned in my review of the new Elbow EP, a lot of great music has come out in the past month or so, including the new Pulp album - their first in 24 years. So instead of talking about that (maybe I will if I get time), I'm going to talk about their most critically acclaimed and commercially successful record, Different Class. I've been a casual fan of the band for years; I grew up on Common People and Disco 2000 and I've had their greatest hits on my phone since the days before I had Spotify. However I never really got round to delving deeper into their discography until now. I've been on a bit of a Pulp kick recently with the new album coming out and their fantastic Glastonbury set (the best of the weekend in my opinion). I'm also currently reading Jarvis Cocker's book about him cleaning out his loft and discovering all the random junk he has accumulated over the years.

Different Class, alongside Blur's Parklife represent the quintessential elements of Britpop as a scene and genre. Both are albums telling irreverent tales of every day British life set to singalong anthems ready for a festival field. However, where the songs Parklife had this very Kinksian detachment from their subject matters, Different Class is much more close and autobiographical. How true to his life and / or embellished the narratives Jarvis Cocker presents are is a different question, but he certainly wants you to believe that the feelings described by the protagonist of these songs are genuine. 

As an aside, I find it interesting to view Pulp's career as a sort of dark reflection of Blur's: both bands released early work that didn't make (that) much of a splash, then an album that set the groundwork for their mainstream success (His N Hers for Pulp and Modern Life Is Rubbish in Blur's Case) followed up by a mega smash (this album and Parklife). Both bands then pivoted into slightly darker, less commercial territory - which for Blur resulted in some of their most critically acclaimed work and set Damon Album up for even more success with Gorillaz. However Pulp's pivot away from the singalong anthems was ultimately met with a bit of a shrug from fans and critics alike and has resulted in the 24 year gap between records.

Also much like Parklife, Different Class is the kind of record where nearly every song could have been a single and therefore the record almost feels like a greatest hits playlist - quickly moving on from one big bombastic singalong to the next. The album spawned five actual singles in total; the aforementioned Common People and Disco 2000 (which still regularly get as much airplay as the biggest Blur and Oasis songs), Mis-Shapes and Sorted For E's & Wizz as a double A-side, and the slower ballad Somethings Changed. I'm not going to spend too much time talking about Common People or Disco 2000 as you must be living under a rock to have never heard these songs, but they just perfectly encapsulate the cinematic scale of entering your late teenage years / early 20s and all the opportunities and shenanigans that you are presented with; and the realisation that not everyone around you walks the same path as you or will be on the same path as you forever. The songs also incorporate something that sets Pulp apart from all their contemporaries - Disco. These song's are fun and tongue in cheek and made for wedding discos.

Sorted For E's & Wizz has grown into one of my favourite Pulp songs over recent months. The goofy retelling of going to a rave and getting off your face never ceases to make me smile. Mis-Shapes opens up the record with a call to arms for all the misfits and 'Mis-Shapes' to take centre stage against a jangly indie rock riff and Jarvis's typical dramatic crooning, with the song slowly progressing into a tighter, faster paced anthem. Something's Changed is a sweet love song set against some cinematic strings and a bluesy guitar solo - and is probably one of the most earnest moments on the record.

As for the other songs on the record, Underwear has grown into a fan favourite, tongue in cheek, raunchy love song and personally I think it does a better job of it than Something's Changed. Pencil Skirt is an equally raunchy smooth soul pastiche about having an affair with a married woman. I Spy is a moody and theatrical piece that instrumentally gives vibes of the darker side of new wave - the likes of Marc Almond and Pet Shop Boys. The song also tales the tale of lust infidelity, however presents it in a much less harmless way. Cocker is very much playing the villain in this tune. Live Bed Show feels like a mid point between the moodiness of I Spy and the slinkiness of Pencil Skirt that is once again about sex, and has a few Bowie-esque inflections in Jarvis's voice. It's a fine song, although it feels outshone by the tracks already preceding it on the record. 

The back end of the record does slow down a little. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.LE.D.L.O.V.E is an odd art rock tune with a massive sounding chorus, but the verses are comprised of erratic spoken word vocals from Jarvis and strange atmospheric synth instrumentation. It's an interesting song but doesn't fully come together for me. Similarly Monday Morning Incorporates a ska rhythm, although doesn't really go hard enough to really capture the energy of the genre, and the chorus does just do away with it for a default-pulp singalong affair. Bar Italia is a little less full on as a closer, and doesn't really move the needle for me. None of these songs are even really bad in any way, but I think the best of Different Class is so many leagues beyond them that it becomes more noticeable.

Different Class is a classic, just for the singles alone. However much like Parklife, I feel like it's biggest shortcoming is that the compartmentalisation of the songs and just general vibe of the record makes the sequencing kind of irrelevant. The fact that Common People is the third song on the record does nothing to elevate it. It could have worked as a bombastic opener, the main centrepiece at the midpoint or a show stopping finale. As the title suggests, the record is different class, but I don't feel like it's necessary to listen in full, front to back to get maximum enjoyment from it. Putting the songs on a throwback party playlist or jamming out to them when they come up on shuffle works just as well.

Top Tracks: Mis-Shapes, Pencil Skirt, Common People, I Spy, Disco 2000, Sorted for E's & Wizz, Underwear

8/10

Manic Street Preachers - "Everything Must Go" (1996)

Everything Must Go is one of those records borne out of so unique circumstances, that it bleeds into everything about it: the sound, the lyrics, its legacy. This is the Manic's fourth record, and first without guitarist and joint lyricist Richey Edwards. Edwards disappeared in early 1995, and was never seen again. This had an expectedly huge impact on the band, and drastically shaped the tone and sound of this record.

The previous MSP records were a much heavier, glam-y punk affair; whereas on Everything Must Go the group shifted to more accessible alternative rock and britpop sound. The whole record is drenched in existential angst. There are so many lyrics revolving around the themes of disappearance, escape and rejecting the past / embracing the new; and the tracks that don't focus on these still ponder the meaning of life, isolation and mental and physical health. This is aided by gorgeous string sections on a good chunk of these songs that swell up in the climaxes, building so much intensity to accompany the gripping passionate vocals from James Dean Bradfield.

Take for example the lead single, A Design For Life. This track is the most reliant on the strings, to the point where the guitar line is just there as a framework for them to expand upon. They swell up and come crashing back down as the band laments the apparent meaninglessness of life. "We don't talk about love, we only want to get drunk / And we are not allowed to spend, as we are told that this is the end", Bradfield howls during the chorus. It's so raw and cathartic, and is one of my favourite songs of all time. The title track is similarly orchestrated, although has more of a triumphant perseverance to the tone and melodies of the song. Nicky Wire, the band's primary lyricist, claims the song is a message to fans, hoping they would accept the group's new sound. But Bradfield's incredibly personal performance makes it feel like the song is directed towards Edwards, hoping that where ever he was, he would forgive them for their change in direction. On top of this, some of the lyrics feel like they've been written from Edwards perspective, as if he's apologising for leaving his friends. It results in an incredibly multilayered and emotional song.

The band channel some of this existential dread through songs named after and about real people. Kevin Carter's lyrics were written by Richey Edwards before he disappeared, about the South African photojournalist who committed suicide in 1994, while battling mental health issues and PTSD from the things he had seen. The track is deceptively uptempo, and features a horn solo of all things. Interiors (Song for William de Kooning) is inspired by the Dutch painter who suffered from dementia and couldn't remember his own work. The intertwining of the guitar and vocal melodies on the chorus give the track a real energy to it.

The opening cut, Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, is one of the few tracks that doesn't really explore the rest of the albums themes - instead tackling the apparent acceptance of American consumer culture within the UK. It unravels from a gentle acoustic tune as the roaring guitars and anthemic chorus come round. Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky likewise is about animal abuse, according to the band. Yet the lyrics, written by Edwards, could easily be interpreted as about his worsening mental state. There is some really off-putting imagery in the song, which is a stripped back acoustic one with reverber-y harp and gentle piano keys in the background. It has a very otherworldly and ethereal vibe.

Exploring the lyrical content in such detail makes the album seem really dour and heavy, but it really is a loud, uptempo and raucous record despite this. Some of the tracks aren't so gruesomely detailed. Elona / Alone and The Girl That Wanted To Be God are anthemic and emotional without being as lyrically bleak. Australia might be the loudest and most rocking of all the tunes. The track is about running away and starting afresh, and is about as balls to the wall as Oasis' most 'epic' songs. Overdriven guitars fly everywhere over the top of this ascending chord progression and Bradfield's absolute belting of the chorus. He genuinely sounds like he could not be singing any louder.

The closing moment, No Surface All Feeling, is the rawest moment on the record. It's the only track that features guitar work from Richey Edwards, and is simply the band opening up and falling apart about losing him. Its noisy and grungy, and has so much emotion oozing out of it. It really leaves the album in a vulnerable place after 45 minutes of them trying to figure it all out, and finding no answers.

I do really recommend this record, it's profound and existential and cathartic; without ever being morose or overly depressing. A lot of what's being said here is layered in the subtext, and rewards multiple listens. Yet the emotion and meaning translates through the performances, so it feels important even on the first listen. I'm really looking forward to checking out the groups previous record, The Holy Bible, as it has quite a cult following - being the last one featuring Richey and before the group hit the mainstream.

Top Tracks: Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, A Design For Life, Elona / Alone, Everything Must Go, Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky, The Girl That Wanted To Be God, Interiors (Song for William de Kooning), Australia, No Surface All Feeling

8/10

Blur - "Parklife" (1994)

A friend of mine gave me for Christmas this year a '100 albums you need to listen to' poster, where you scratch off each one once you've listened to them. I have listened to 15 of them already, but I thought I'll go through the remaining 85, and write about them here as I listen. This is the first one I've scratched off from that 85. Blur are one of those artists that I adore their Best Of album (there isn't a bad song on it), yet previous to this I have never listened to any of their studio LPs.

Parklife is the group's third record, and is the one which broke them and Britpop into the mainstream (along with Oasis's Definitely Maybe), and contains some of the band's biggest singles: Boys and Girls and the album's title track, Parklife. These tracks perfectly encapsulate what the band and Britpop was about, being fun, bouncy guitar-pop tracks with witty, tongue-in-cheek commentary on life as a working class British youth. The synth pop groove and squelchy bass of Girls and Boys, and the immensely catchy (but also impossible to remember) chorus make it sheer pop-perfection. Phil Daniel's cockney spoken word verses on Parklife are enigmatically charismatic; detailing the characters morning routine, feeding the pigeons and slagging off Audi's slogan.

The rest of the albums singles are the tracks that I am most familiar with, as they all made the Best Of. End of a Century juxtaposes triumphant horns against Damon Albarn's nonchalant vocals, describing how the end of the century is nothing special and life still goes on as normal. To the End gives off a throwback 60s lounge vibe, with sweeping strings above really spacious keys and percussion. It has a bittersweet feeling to it, as the retro instrumentation combines with Albarn's soaring voice, claiming "It looks like we might have made it, made it to the end." The final single released was the penultimate track on the record, This Is a Low. The song is up there with Girls and Boys as one of the band's very best. The song starts off slow and sombre, with gentle acoustic guitar strumming. But as the chorus hits, Albarn's voice raises to a cathartic, emotional swell; before dropping the intensity back for the second verse. The band's alternative rock influences creep in for a noisy, distorted guitar solo and bridge before the final chorus. It remains one of the most personal moments on an album which is generally more focused on the world around it.

The deeper cuts on the record are also a lot of fun. Bank Holiday is a short, brash, punky tune about celebrating bank holidays. Albarn's vocal inflections and unique points of emphasis give the track quite a quirky feel to it. The bouncy guitars and the "oh-oohs" on Tracy Jacks make the song feel weightless and harmlessly fun. Badhead's jangly guitars and kind of self deprecating tone give the track a very Smiths-esque feel, but the horn section which crops up in the chorus make it a distinctly Britpop version of that kind of indie rock. Immediately following Badhead is The Debt Collector, an entirely instrumental, doo-wap interlude. The horns take centre stage and make it feel as if you're now in a fairground. This theme carries over into Far Out, a short wacky tune which sounds like what Albarn would go on to do with Gorillaz (despite the fact it was written and sung by the groups bassist, Alex James).Trouble in the Message Centre has blaring guitars and bubbling synths, and along with all the "ooh"s and "aah"s, it really feels like the song is turning it up to 11 to make a song about going overboard on drink and drugs really feel like it. Clover over Dover turns the intensity back down, and features a really cool guitar hook just after the chorus. Jubilee has a wild, glam rock swagger to it.

My biggest fault with the album is one that can't really be avoided due to the way it has been written and constructed. The fact that the majority of the songs revolve around fictional characters, it lacks a certain kind of intimacy and emotional stakes. It feels like the tracklist could've been assembled in any order, and the fact that a track called To the End is literally at the midpoint shows this well. The fact that the closing track, Lot 105, is basically a silly joke track does kind of irk me. It feels like the band didn't want to leave the listener on the depths of This Is a Low, even though it would make for a great closer. On the whole, this is a small problem, as the tracks are good enough to hold the album, no matter what order they are in. 

Parklife is an incredibly fun and tongue-in-cheek album. It has an upbeat and summery feel to it, like it's the kind of thing I'd throw on during a barbecue. There a so many great songs on here, beyond just the two big singles.

Top Tracks: Girls and Boys, Tracy Jacks, End of a Century, Parklife, Bank Holiday, To the End, Trouble in the Message Centre, Clover Over Dover, Jubilee, This is a Low

8/10