Rock stars in middle age: only rappers who reach middle age can be more fascinating. Some slow down from more radical days (Metallica), others continue without acknowledging the passage of time (Foo Fighters, Motley Crue), and others calcify into craftsmen who walk the fine line between "consistent" and "predictable" (The Rolling Stones, Beck, Prince). Jarvis Cocker on Further Complications chooses to rage against the dying of the light. His sophomore solo album, unlike the last Pulp album or his first solo album, sounds less domesticated. Here, he is clearly the man who spent the 90s singing "Babies," "Underwear" and "Seductive Barry." In other words, it's a lustful record where he lusts for women younger than he ("Angela") and writes a song about fucking his listeners through song ("Fuckingsong"). Produced by Steve Albini, Further Complications also relies more on a direct rock sound than any of Cocker's previous work. It's the sound of a man trying to sound sexually free, which has the inverse effect of making him sound desperate and lonely. Cocker is smart, though: he knows it, and the album is better because of that.
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