Pulp: The reunion 2025 needed
“Bluntly put in the fewest words,” Jarvis Cocker sang in 2006, “Cunts are still running the world.”
Nearly 20 years later, that proclamation has proved all the more pertinent. That’s why the world needs Pulp. In an age awash with reunions that feel like they feed into the issue of the rich feasting on the want of the hungry, Cocker and his socialist cronies have rolled off their rock and unveiled some actual art—meaningful and timely art rather than settling for a string of camera-phone baiting concerts.
Nostalgia, rather than being an awkward anchor to stagnant waters of the past, has actually been transfigured into a vital part of what makes the Pulp reunion precious. The group have by no means embarked on an upheaval of their sound, but in the process, they pry the eyes of the public back to the mid-1990s—a time when average house prices were at a prime affordability of 3.69x the average wage, compared to the unattainable 7.91x of today.
1995 was an age when the top 10% of the population owned 52.5% of the nation’s wealth. Now, that figure sits at 57% and is rising, while the bottom 50% of people presently own less than 5% of the wealth. University was free. Now, the average student graduates with over £45,000 in debt. The price of ‘basket goods’ has doubled in the last 30 years, meaning that wage increases have been outstripped by rising expenses.
In short, we’re in a pickle—and ‘swagger’ won’t get us out of it. Pulp won’t get us out of it either, but at least Cocker has the kahunas to croon, “Use your rights to protest on the street”. The band also clearly have the wherewithal and creative gumption to recognise that nostalgia is inescapable when you’ve not released a new album in 24 years, but it can be cleverly weaponised. Hence, they take up back to the famed Stone Roses concert at Spike Island… a simpler time.
After a string of live shows where they read the room, the disco pop of ‘Spike Island’ is a poignant party to lift our dower spirits. Cocker sings of his calling to perform. The beat is buoyant. And the melody is simply eudaimonia. Meanwhile, the group have also discussed an intent to make their forthcoming “huge shows” more “intimate”. With that in mind, the album title, More, seems like an ironic skewering of these wanton days.
But beyond all the demuring about what the future holds for this comeback, Pulp simply feel like the right band for the present. Outspoken in the right ways, they prove that bliss doesn’t have to be ignorant. That’s the sort of combo that we’re crying out for now. “Maybe that can make for another bright time,” Cocker told BBC 6Music about the reprisal of their work from the ’90s to the present.
With a legion of young fans lapping up their groovy ways for the first time and older heads delving back into the beauty of what it all meant, they are a band riding communities in a time of great divide. With ticket prices ranging from an affordable £53.60, they are already making the right sending the right messages to the rejuvenated following that they have under their humble spell. And long may that continue.
As Cocker decrees himself: “This is the shortest amount of time a Pulp album has ever taken to record. It was obviously ready to happen. These are the facts. We hope you enjoy the music. It was written and performed by four human beings from the north of England, aided and abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No AI was involved during the process. This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey. This is the best that we can do.”
Now, it’s ready to be heard. This isn’t a cash grab but rather a humble, human call to arms. We do what we can.
