Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
Words by Gemma Hughes
Jarvis Cocker is back, and doing what he does best; writing and singing songs about dysfunctional, and seedy sex. You’ve probably already heard Angela, the superb single about an older man lusting after a 22 year-old who ‘makes £4.50 an hour and offers a complementary shower’; well there’s plenty more where that came from. Further Complications is about a middle age sexual crisis, and seeing as Jarvis recently announced his split from stylist wife Camille Biddault Waddington, there’s certainly some element of autobiography here. Let’s just hope the confessional ‘I never said I was deep’ (words Cocker would apparently like on his headstone) isn’t all true as ‘I’m not looking for a relationship, just a willing receptacle’ isn’t going to get him off the singles market any time soon.
The album was produced by studio legend Steve Albini (Pixies, Dirty Three, The Stooges, Nirvana...) so it’s not surprising that this is the record where Jarvis finally rocks out. The result is fantastic, raucous, sometimes a little angry but with Cocker’s trademark sense of humour ever-present. Leftovers is a perfect example, beginning with the line ‘I met her in the Palaeontology museum and I make no bones about it’. Surely only he could get away with that kind of Xmas-cracker dad-joke?
Like Mr Cocker’s geography-teacher-chic wardrobe, the album has a definite seventies feel to it. There’s a whole stack of fuzzy, distorted guitars and glam-rock sounding songs based on killer riffs. Homewrecker, a punky, chaotic number midway through the album bears more than a passing resemblance to Roxy Music and the gorgeous final track, You’re In My Eyes, sees Jarvis breathe a sexy, Pulpish story-song over a harp-ridden disco tune. If you can listen to this song without wanting to do The Hustle you are officially dead.
As a card-carrying Pulp and Jarvis fan, the weed in tweed can do little wrong in my eyes, but this is a truly brilliant record and almost puts his first solo album to shame. Don’t get me wrong, 2006’s critically acclaimed The Jarvis Cocker Record had some brilliant songs on it, but this new offering is the very definition of all killer and no filler.
Further Complications is out now
Posted Thu, June 11, 2009