#53: Jarvis Strikes Back.

Whoa, I don't think we've ever received as many messages on our MySpace account as we did regarding yesterday's Harry Potter post. Apparently all of his fans are equally rabid.

The other day, Nina and I were listening to Separations in the car; chronologically, it was Pulp's first thoroughly great record ("Countdown" is their first perfect song, I'd argue) and on it you can hear frontman Jarvis Cocker finally wrapping himself around the repressed-yet-dauntingly-sexy persona he later perfected on His 'N' Hers and Different Class.

Well, Mr. Cocker is back with a new record, Jarvis, and while some people are greeting it with a lukewarm reaction, I find it difficult to dislike anything he lends his voice to. (In fairness, I'm not alone in that opinion; The Guardian deemed it an "idiosyncratic triumph"--take that, Pitchfork!) The record is incredibly textured yet cohesive, the many facets coming together to form a very satisfying whole. "Black Magic" feels like a send-up of Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane"--in a good way--while "Heavy Weather" sounds like it could've been co-written by Teenage Fanclub.

It seems like what people react most negatively to is the lack of uptempo material, but then again, that's what Relaxed Muscle was about. Anyway, Jarv does provide a couple of those songs anyway. For instance, take "Fat Children," a song about being killed by overfed kids and then coming back to haunt them. Download here or watch this live performance and marvel at Cocker being the youngest-looking 43 year old you've ever seen:



Don't you think he and Moby could be cousins? There's something of a resemblance there...

xoxox
Danny