{"product_id":"pulp-this-is-hardcore","title":"Pulp - This Is Hardcore","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2xLP BLACK VINYL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This is the sound of someone losing the plot\/you're gonna like it, but not a lot.\" So says Jarvis Cocker on \"The Fear,\" the opening track on This Is Hardcore, the ambitious follow-up to Pulp's breakthrough Different Class, thereby providing his own review for the album. Cocker doesn't quite lose the plot on This Is Hardcore, but the ominous, claustrophobic \"The Fear\" makes it clear that this is a different band, one that no longer has anthems like \"Common People\" in mind. The shift in direction shouldn't come as a surprise -- Pulp was always an arty band -- but even the catchiest numbers are shrouded in darkness. This Is Hardcore is haunted by disappointments and fear -- by the realization that what you dreamed of may not be what you really wanted. Nowhere is this better heard than on \"This Is Hardcore,\" where drum loops, lounge piano, cinematic strings, and a sharp lyric create a frightening monument to weary decadence. It's the centerpiece of the album, and the best moments follow its tone. Some, like \"The Fear,\" \"Seductive Barry,\" and \"Help the Aged,\" wear their fear on their sleeves, some cloak it in Bowie-esque dance grooves (\"Party Hard\") or in hushed, resigned tones (\"Dishes\"). A few others, such as the scathing \"I'm a Man\" or \"A Little Soul,\" have a similar vibe without being explicitly dark. Instead of delivering an entirely bleak album, Pulp raise the curtain somewhat on the last three songs, but the attempts at redemption -- \"Sylvia,\" \"Glory Days,\" \"The Day After the Revolution\" -- don't feel as natural as everything that precedes them. It's enough to keep the album from being a masterpiece, but it's hardly enough to prevent it from being an artistic triumph.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA1        The Fear\u003cbr\u003eA2        Dishes\u003cbr\u003eA3        Party Hard\u003cbr\u003eA4        Help The Aged\u003cbr\u003eA5        This Is Hardcore\u003cbr\u003eB6        TV Movie\u003cbr\u003eB7        A Little Soul\u003cbr\u003eB8        I'm A Man\u003cbr\u003eB9        Seductive Barry\u003cbr\u003eC10        Sylvia\u003cbr\u003eC11        Glory Days\u003cbr\u003eC12        The Day After The Revolution\u003cbr\u003eD13        Tomorrow Never Lies\u003cbr\u003eD14        Laughing Boy\u003cbr\u003eD15        The Professional\u003cbr\u003eD16        This Is Hardcore (End Of The Line Remix)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Analog Record Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45147355414728,"sku":null,"price":46.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0348\/8505\/files\/61Kr5WGbGyL._SL1005.jpg?v=1784745331","url":"https:\/\/www.analogrecordshop.com\/products\/pulp-this-is-hardcore","provider":"Analog Record Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}