HeadCleaner Single Reviews

16 March, 1998

"This Is Hardcore" by Pulp

Jarvis Cocker's smugger-than-smug anthems have always left me cold, but I have to admit "This Is Hardcore" is an all together less chilly prospect. Weighing in at a Paranoid Android-challenging 6 and a half minutes, Pulp's new single begins with a great big melting pot full of every ultra-cool 70s movie and tv theme tune ever, before Jarvis begins in uncharacteristically understated fashion. Instead of throwing himself around making daft hand gestures, here Jarvis sounds as though he's sitting on the end of his bed, smoking a post-coital fag and wishing he was somewhere else.

A Pulp song wouldn't be a Pulp song without its sex references, and although "This Is Hardcore" is brimful of them, it is in fact dealing with fame and fortune and comparing them to pornography. Poor tortured artist stuff, perhaps, but done in this fashion it is passionate, intelligent and moving. Which is not something I ever thought I'd write about Pulp. Keep it up (fnarr).

First b-side is "Ladies' Man", an electro-disco track that would leave Air gasping for air. Sheffield's answer to Kraftwerk now - will Pulp's reinventive wonders never cease? Next is "The Professional", another soundtrack to a movie playing in Cocker's head. With his dirty old man vocals, this is Pulp more threatening, less populist and a damn sight better than they have ever been. "Just another song about single mothers and sex" he groans, lying. This is the best song about single mothers and sex ever (ok, so I know there's not much competition...) The EP finishes with the "End Of The Line" remix of "This Is Hardcore", an orchestral instrumental.

With this release, Pulp have reinvented themselves marvellously, tugging at the coat-tails of bands like Portishead and Radiohead with their tension-filled claustrophobic masterpieces. Which ain't bad from a band that were about as exciting as Shed Seven a couple of years ago.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams

Robbie knows how to rock, he knows how to jump up and down and he knows how to have a good time. So why not let him get on with it in his own fashion, playing the tennis racket in front of the mirror and pretending to be every bad mutha in rock from Mick Jagger, via Axl Rose and Alice Cooper to Liam Gallagher. And since Oasis are now officially sh'te, our Robbie's brand of dumb anthemic rock n roll is the best out there at the moment. Let him entertain you - and make sure you catch the video.

On the b-side is Robbie's duet with Tom Jones from the Brit awards - the one where they stomp through those songs from The Full Monty, and you can hear Robbie's leather suit squeaking in between bars. Labouring under the misconception that Tom Jones is somehow cool (see Space) and not some creaky old fart that your mum likes, this is best forgotten about. Next up is his cover of the Pet Shop Boys' "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing", a fairly faithful version that swaps keyboards for guitars - apart from that it sounds much like the original (damn - I was hoping for another full-on punk assault like "Back For Good" on his last single). Last is "I Am The (Res)erection" (snicker) - not the cosmic Stone Roses song, but a sleazy rock and roll swampy thing with pretty amusing lyrics (don't see Space).

Take that and party.

Rating: 8/10

"Watching You" by Ether

At first I thought this was playing at the wrong speed, as it sounds like The Monkees on helium. Then I thought I'd got the new Hanson single by mistook as it sounds like some harmony-laden US mildly alternative track. Then I realised - it was Green Gartside from Scritti Politti singing with Elvis Costello's Attractions. Phew - glad I got that one cleared up.

Who are Ether?

"Dog's Life" and "Strange" are the b-sides, and carry on the same bizarro 80s pop/new wave vibe as the a-side. Hmmm.

Rating: 5/10

"Everything Goes Around The Water" by The Delgados

This is the sort of music that gives alternative a bad name. Whimsy, flimsy little pale boys and girls singing about the rain, headaches and how hard it is to get a shag. National Service - that's what they need. That, or constant exposure to a diet of hardcore punk and glamourous pop music.

The first 10 seconds of b-sides "Blackpool" and "The Drowned And The Saved" sounded exactly the same and I'm in a bit of a hurry tonight, so I'm not spending any more time listening to this peely-wally pish. Pah.

Rating: 1/10

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