Record #5: Jarvis Cocker’s ‘Further Complications’
Listening to former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker means listening to the work of an unabashed rock ‘n’ roll fan. You could say he wears his influences on his sleeve—there are enough Bowie- and Costello-influenced vocals on Further Complications to slake your thirst for the familiar—but he injects an enormous enough dose of personal style that his nods to the monoliths of rock and punk are never egregious. Not to mention that he helped build something of a rock archetype of his own, and his approach is saturated in mirth—”Leftovers” and “I Never Said I Was Deep” are flat-out fuckin’ hilarious. “I never said I was deep / But I am profoundly shallow / My lack of knowledge is vast / And my horizons are narrow.”
I think I’ll call this record “visceral and smartly orchestrated punk-soul.” It’s clever while operating under the guise of apathy. These songs are great, but they’re just derivative and raw enough to make you think Cocker’s not trying too hard. I’ve gotta say, however: The 9-minute “You’re in My Eyes (Discosong)” is neat as far as Barry White/Curtis Mayfield impressions go, but the record doesn’t exactly need it. Guess that’s where the mirth thing comes into play again. Further Complications was produced by Steve Albini (always a good sign) and released by Rough Trade on May 18. It deserves about a dozen more listens forthwith, so I’m going to get on that.
