Pulp THIS IS HARDCORE

Pulp: Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey, Mark Webber. Additional personnel: Anne Dudley, Chris Thomas (piano); Olle Romo, Matthew Vaughan, Magnus Fiennes, Mark Haley (programming); Mandy Bell, Carol Kenyon, Jackie Rawe (background vocals); Neneh Cherry. Recorded at The Townhouse, Olympic Studios, CTS Studios, London, England. "I'm not Jesus, though I've got the same initials," croons Jarvis Cocker in Pulp's folllowup to 1996's gleefully hateful DIFFERENT CLASS. As this line illustrates, THIS IS HARDCORE takes Pulp further over the top in every sense--shamelessly dramatic structures telegraph every crescendo, and tense verse arrangements give way to sweeping sing-along choruses. Cocker's venomous, confessional lyrics are best evidenced in his trademark spoken sections--murmured tales of obsession punctuate the band's call to arms for the pasty, skinny dispossessed youth of the world. THIS IS HARDCORE boasts a fantastic palette of sonic textures, from the thick T. Re