More

Pulp is back! A couple of months ago, I got quite excited when I saw that Pulp had finally come around to recording a new album. Since they called it quits a year after their last album — We Love Life — in 2001, nobody was expecting it, despite a recent reunion tour in 2023. A year ago, it seems even the members of the band themselves weren’t expecting anything of the sort to happen. But Jarvis Cocker eventually came to them with a bunch of songs ready. After three weeks in the studio, Pulp is back with More.

After the High: A Long Silence

This new album wasn’t a given, though. After their enormous success in 1995 with Different Class — still regarded as their best work — the band got caught in the whirlwind of fame. Despite their best efforts, they felt overwhelmed and out of control. They eventually gave up in 2002 and only got back together for reunion tours. It was just about getting a bit of pleasure on stage.

The Road to More

But around the last tour, a few things happened that led the band to come up with More. For the tour, Cocker offered to rehearse a new song he had written for a play by Simon Stephens: “Hymn Of The North.” Then they added a few more songs, including some he had played with Jarv Is: “Background Noise” and “A Sunset.” What started as some practice during soundchecks ended up making the setlist — and received a warm welcome from the audience.

During this tour, which started in 2022, longtime friend and bassist Steve Mackey couldn’t join the band due to health complications. Sadly, he passed away in 2023. This was a huge blow for his former bandmates. According to Jarvis Cocker, it was also a trigger. As he told MOJO: “It was a spur in some ways. When somebody important to you passes away, you can’t help but think about your own mortality and the fact that, if you are still alive, you have still got the ability to create things.”

This all contributed to Cocker doing his best to come up with new material before submitting it to the rest of the band. While Nick Banks initially rolled his eyes, he was convinced by Candida Doyle. With or without Pulp, Jarvis will keep doing what he does best — coming up with new songs and recording them one way or another. So they might as well join him. As Banks told MOJO: “Pulp has always mutated, and now it’s mutated again. I still don’t really know why Pulp are doing a record in 2025, but we have! As I always say, if you do nothing, nothing happens. If you do something, something happens.”

More than a comeback

And something did happen! More is more than just a comeback album by a band from another era. It is a rebirth. The music definitely takes us back to their finest work in 1995. The songwriting is on point, showing the maturity of a man with 60 years of existence. Cocker offers reflections on death, progress — but more importantly, love — still with his very personal approach.

Unpacking More

The album opens with “Spike Island,” which sounds like an explanation for their long silence, now broken. “Something stopped me dead in my tracks / I was headed for disaster and then I turned back (…) I was born to perform / It’s a calling / I exist to do this.” The song jump-starts the album with its bouncy bassline, melodic synth work and signature fuzzy guitars, while Cocker’s voice soars over the chorus.

Two of my favourite songs follow up on the album. “Tina” is about a fantasy dream girlfriend. The track is a driving song mixed with strings droning in the low notes to soaring highs. Vocals mix spoken words — marking inner thoughts — with wonderful melodies and echoey backing vocals. “Grown Up” is about forgetting these dreams and trying to be a grown-up. This one definitely speaks to me as a parent trying to be grown up and make the right choices. It is often challenging to have a clear idea of what to do. “Except nobody wants to grow up” as the song says.

The album unfolds in perfect progression. The first side ends softly with ballads like the intimate “Slow Jam” and the lovely “Farmers Market” — about taking chances. The second side starts with “My Sex,” a very driving piece which finishes in some kind of musical/vocal climax. The second single from the album, “Got to Have Love,” follows with strong disco vibes. The song highlights the importance of feeling love in an intimate relationship. “Without love you’re just jerking off in someone else” — very direct, but accurate!

“Background Noise” is another love song, like Pulp knows how to make them. With a very fitting music that seems to create a noisy-feeling background, Cocker describes how love turns into something like background noise as time passes —only to realise it’s gone when the noise disappears. Another of my favourites is “Hymn Of The North,” featuring Chilly Gonzales on piano. The song is a letter from a man to his child, encouraging them to fly with their own wings without losing sight of their origins — of their dad — and to keep in touch. As a father of growing young lads, it just resonates.

A Sunset — Or Not?

The album ends with “A Sunset,” which seems like a fitting conclusion. Which brings us to wonder… Will there be another sunrise after this sunset? Is More Pulp’s swan song? Or can we expect more from them? According to Jarvis Cocker: “It wasn’t conceived as, Right, this is our grand full stop. But it might be. Or it might be more of a comma – a grand comma. Because y’know, nothing ever really ends…”

In the inner sleeve of the album, Pulp wrote: “This is the best that we can do. Thanks for the listening.” It was definitely their best. And I thank them for coming up with it after so long!