Songs About Fucking: Jarvis Cocker's "Further Complications"

That is Jarvis Cocker.

A bit of backstory first:  Jarvis Cocker got his start in the mid-80s when he went to work with nothing but a four-track and a drum machine, unwittingly bashing out some of the biggest hits of the era with "Do You Remember the First Time?," "Razzmatazz" and "Pigeon Kill."  Later, he formed the band Pulp with former members of Scratch Acid, penning timeless classics like "Common People," "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time," and "Tiny, King of the Jews."  After starting Rapeman and releasing This is Hardco-

Hold on one second...

Okay, sorry folks, I seem to be a bit off with my history here.  Let's try this again.

Sorry, that's Jarvis Cocker.  Didn't recognize him with that beard!

Boy did I get confused there!  I hope you understand, though, because Steve Albini's presence is nothing short of painfully obvious, what with the loud, violent drums, ugly guitars and few frills, especially in relation to Jarvis Cocker's past work.  Even on the album's Pulpiest number, closer "You're in My Eyes (Discosong)," which goes so far as to feature female backing vocals, strings and horns, it can't help but end with two minutes of feedback and noise.  And when Cocker diverges from his Pulp past, we get tunes like "Pilchard," which sounds like the goddamn Jesus Lizard.

It's easy to credit Albini with making the album work, and in the hands of anyone else,  it would almost certainly lack that distinct, propulsive and powerful sound.  Still, it would be foolish to imagine anyone other than Cocker at the helm and heart of this record, and as soon as his voice enters past the dirty hook that kicks off "Further Complications," Cocker assumes complete control, his voice lurking and twisting in his usual manner over a rougher sound that suits him better than anyone could have predicted.  Songs like the grungy title track, the dirty sax-laden "Homewrecker!" and the raucous "Caucasian Blues" find Cocker yelping with a vitality and passion lacking in his more recent works, which were more drenched in ennui and reluctant placation than anything else.  "Fuckingsong" and "Angela" (which initially seemed unremarkable as a single but grooves perfectly in the context of the album) show him at his most lustful; in the former he uses the song as a virtual replacement for sex while in the latter he struts along, his 45 year old self longing for its 22 year old titular figure.

"Further Complications" has its fair share of relaxed moments, though, which evoke the material of his debut solo album, 2006's Jarvis, a fine album that was weighted down by the same sorts of slower songs that diversify and benefit this record.  Here we see the Jarvis we all know, and the soulful pace of the songs leave room for his notable aching wit.  "Leftovers" makes use of an old trick, the typical, "I wanna be your lover" line found in thousands of pop songs, yet his desperation, wit ("He says he loves you like a sister / Well, I guess that's relative / He says that he wants to make love to you / But instead of 'to' shouldn't that be 'with'?") and self-awareness ("And at the risk of repeating myself, I'm gonna say it again!") keep such "leftovers" fresh (kill me now).  "I Never Said I Was Deep" is another showcase for such cleverness with an instantly quotable, catchy and downright huge chorus, while "Slush" almost seems like a counterpart to Morrissey's similarly moody "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore" from his latest record.

More than anything else then, "Further Complications" finds Jarvis Cocker out of his element, yet feeling more comfortable and assured than he has in years, and with the help of Steve Albini, he's crafted a sonically powerful and lyrically masterful record.  Whether or not Cocker really is as "profoundly shallow" as he claims is irrelevant.  When an album bites this hard, all of that extra depth found here is a great added perk.