REVIEW: Pulp, His 'N Hers (Island)
- Bob Gajarsky
"The most fashionable band in Britain", as dubbed by England's New Musical Express, is Pulp. Their American debut (and 4th U.K. release), His 'N' Hers, has just been released on Island Records.
Pulp were an early eighties post punk outfit who carried on in the twilight zone of pop, releasing occasional singles to a total lack of interest until NME caught on to them at the end of 1992. Three singles (including the His 'N' Hers track "Babies") were declared single of the week by the U.K. music magazine and compiled on a release titled Pulpintro: The Gift Recordings.
The main thing about Pulp is that they're radically different than anything currently available. Whereas lead singer Jarvis Cocker's singing style is a bit off-kilter (like Tim Curry of Rocky Horror fame) and highlights the unexpected words (a la Morrissey and Suede's Brett Anderson), it sounds like none of these folks. And, as the guitar that strums melodically though all songs has some similarities to U2's trademark, Joshua Tree-styled sound, the band doesn't bare any other resemblances to the Dublin quartet.
The lyrics? About sex, sex, sex and a little bit of fucking. Virtually every song on the American debut are about sex . "Babies" talks about the main character sleeping with his girlfriend's sister, because the sister caught him watching her have sex; only "'cos she {the sister} looks like you {the girlfriend}". "Do You Remember the First Time" is a jaunt through the loss of virginity, but from a real person's point of view, and not a romanticized, colorized version.
Pulp is a bit like a coelocanth - the ancient fish that everyone thought was extinct until one was recently caught. This time, they're not back with a whimper, but with a bang. Pulp is the kind of band that listening booths were made for - words can't describe the different style of music that is being released from NME's band of the moment.
