Jarvis Cocker "Jarvis" (Rough Trade)
By Ryan Harig
Friday. May 18, 1:41 PM
Ex-Pulp mastermind's solo debut should be so much better.

I hate reviewing solo albums, even if it is the one and only Jarvis Cocker. Who is gonna touch Waits, Gabriel, Buckley, or Bowie when it comes to this playing field? Do people realize that, when you make a solo album, you are the sole proprietor of the end result and you need to offer something original, unique, and inspiring, especially if your voice sounds uninspired and your lyrics are as dumb as they come?

I’m not trying to down play Jarvis, cuz he tries. And my rant is not completely aimed at him. Because, truth is, there are bits of the good here and, yes, sadly a big bit of bad, but this record is definitely no “shitty second album of the month” by Ryan Adams.

"Black Magic," like a crooning Nick Cave bleeding in all the right ways, hits me the hardest of all the tracks on Jarvis. It feels the most real. Some of the other songs are even good enough to earn Jarvis repeated listens. But then you get "Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time" and "From A to I": just really dumbed down stupidity that doesn’t do much but offer nonsense and dribble.

This album has its moments, and to anyone really yearning for something new from the Pulp mastermind, I would recommend it. But overall it doesn’t stand as tall as the masters of the past. I guess I will just have to see what happens on Jarvis's next record.
www.roughtraderecords.com

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Ryan Harig

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