For those of you who loved Pulp, the name Jarvis Cocker should excite your senses and make your heart race a little bit. For those of you who don’t know, Jarvis Cocker is a music industry veteran. He was the face of Sheffield’s Pulp and has written numerous songs for Nancy Sinatra and various other acts. Now, four years after the last Pulp album, Jarvis is ready to unleash his well-formed sound on the world.

Starting the album with a soft piano intro, the second track “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time,” was written for Nancy Sinatra and features a classic 70’s crooner style, influenced by his mentor Scott Walker, and twang-tinged guitars. With lines like, “Let him read your palm and guess your sign, let him take you home and treat you so fine, but baby, don’t let him waste your time,” this song gets stuck in your head and gets you singing along.

The third track, “Black Magic”, is built on a sample from the 1968 classic “Crimson and Clover”. With strong drum-beats, tambourines and Cocker’s signature vocal style, “Black Magic” is well-crafted and will definitely become one of your favorites.

The album’s boisterously fun tracks are mixed with more introspective, orchestrated songs like “I Will Kill Again” and the delicate “Baby’s Coming Back to Me”. After a small lull in the noise level, Cocker comes back with the punk influenced “Fat Children”—a rocking and loud track that should get your feet moving.

Next come some darker tracks, “From Auschwitz to Ipswich” and “Disney Time,” reflecting Cocker’s dismay at certain aspects of modern life. The conviction and disappointment in his voice convey his emotions as they are supported by his thoughtful compositions.

In a move to instill a bit of hopefulness in the album, Cocker brings out the neo-romantic “Tonight” and the bright “Big Julie”—two tracks that shift the focus of the album upward and away from lonely nights and disillusionment.

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In concluding the album, Cocker brings back the theme from the intro and then closes the album with “Quantum Theory,” the ultimate in hopeful melodies as it repeats, “Everything is gonna be alright.”

Although Jarvis Cocker’s new album retains a vein of pop sensibility, his new move towards the singer-songwriter genre should appeal to a wide array of people who like classics, like oldies, like Britpop and like the new flavor of modern vocally driven music. The cool and relaxed feel of this album will make a nice addition to your record collection and set the tone for a laid-back night.

- Alexis, Entertainment Reviewer for PanicShoppers.com.

Jarvis
Artist: Jarvis Cocker
Label: Rough Trade Records
Release Date: 4 March 2007

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