Pulp - This Is Hardcore

Pulp's swirling mass of bleakness make this a near-masterpiece that comes apart in the end, as the closing trio - "Sylvia," "Glory Days," and "The Day After the Revolution" - clash with the dirty perversion and loathing of "The Fear" and "This Is Hardcore." The Deluxe Edition would reveal "Glory Days" to be a rewrite of "Cocaine Socialist," and the latter is a more natural expression of lead singer Jarvis Cocker's state of mind at the time. Those last three songs on the album proper aren't bad, but they lack conviction. This Is Hardcore ditches the populism of Different Class to become more of a singer-songwriter record, with Cocker's confused issues making the bulk of the subject matter. Perhaps the sense of isolation and dread make this a fascinating, lonely album. Up until the chorus of "Sylvia," This Is Hardcore is like Taxi Driver in music form.