Jarvis Cocker "Jarvis" (Nov. '06) [by Michael]

I had high hopes for this album, partly because the album art is so excellent - an indulgence in surface aesthetics that I'm suceptible to, more so than I'd like to be. Also, I always longed for another album by Pulp (the band from whence Cocker emanates) that would live up to the potential of Different Class, their aknowledged masterpiece. I thought that "Jarvis" could be that album. I find that new surroundings often stimulate me, and I imagined that the open possibilities offered by recording outside the familair territory of his band might do the same for Mr. Cocker. And they have.

Recently Cocker collaborated with Air and Charlotte Gainsbourg for her album "5:55". I don't know the chronology - whether he recorded his own album before that collaboration, simultaneous to it (unlikely) - but my inclination is that he recorded his own album after he worked on Gainsbourg's. I'm inclined to think that collaborating with new collaborators would also tend to stimulate the flow of his creative juices, and perhaps also a more vigorous mingling of the humours.

My opinion of this album has oscilated since I got it. At first I forced myself to think that it almost lived up to all my high expectations; then disillusion crashed down around me. I found myself only satisfied with a handful (if that) of songs on the album. Now I find myself very pleased with it - with the exception of the song 'Fat Children'. But given my inability to rely on the consistency of my reactions to this set of songs, that opinion could be ousted by mind rebels at any time.

A final imposition: to those of you who have the album or may pick it up, what the hell is the point of 'The Loss Adjuster (Excepts 1& 2)'? Is there a real song out there somewhere with that title, or is that just a nod to the quirky, quasi-artistic 'interludes', 'excepts', 'reprises', etc. of late-sixties/early-seventies albums? Or is it both, with the added intent of provoking questions, curiosities and theories? I appreciate the effort, but it's actually unsatisfying. I think.