There you are, at the front of the crowd having a bright idea halfway through a performance of Weeds. What if Pulp did get back together, haul themselves into the studio and put together a new album? Hypotheticals are not worth wondering about. What if Roy Orbison had lived long enough to do another Traveling Wilbury’s record? But for Pulp, whose three new tracks (Hymn of the North, Background Noise and A Sunset) have been teased in live recordings, the writing may be on the wall. Nobody does EPs anymore and three singles are good enough for promoting a lineup of new material. Whether it comes to a head is impossible to know – but with Jarvis Cocker confirming he was back in the studio with the band, it could certainly be plausible.
And would it be such a bad thing? To hear the band kick on twenty-three years after their last full release? Make no mistake, most artists would claw their way through rusted glass glued inside of brittle tubes for a chance to end on the high that is We Love Life. But new material has been teased once, and it will occur again. The chance of Background Noise not being released beyond a live recording uploaded to a South American Pulp fan account is nil. There will be a release. But what of A Sunset and Hymn of the North? It makes little sense to play, perform and tease those dedicated souls who have been to more than a handful of gigs and heard these pieces live. Cocker and drummer Nick Banks may have downplayed the chances of a new set of material, but their minds may have changed.
Speaking to NME, Banks said: “There have certainly been no conversations about new material and to be honest. I’m not sure if any of us have a real appetite for that because you have to put three to five years of your life into it.” That was over a year ago, and at the time of Pulp’s initial run, Blur and Suede were on a similar head. Not to compare comrades in arms from thirty years prior, but here are two examples of how a long-running outfit can put out a new release. Blur did not extensively tour The Ballad of Darren, playing all the songs just once for a BBC session and relying on two singles, St. Charles Square and The Narcissist, for the rest of their live shows. Suede dropped Autofiction and has carried on from a one-off reunion gig in 2011. Thirteen years, five albums and another one on the way.
Momentum carries artists in different ways. The mind wanders and new projects have all sorts of wonderful, contagious impacts. We are still waiting for an official release of Slow Jam from Cocker project Jarv Is. It, like other projects from other artists, has been sidelined and seemingly forgotten in the buzz of a new tour schedule. There are plenty more reasons to put together a new album for a new generation of fans – not least because Pulp is one of the few out there who could make it a tangible, interesting effort. Their reflections in these three, as-yet-unreleased songs, are as strong as their contemporary high. Background Noise serves as a bright and understated new look at love while Hymn of the North has the hometown cries which made Sheffield Sex City such a memorable piece.
Everything appears to be falling into place, and with Cocker spotted in Walthamstow for a studio session, it seems we are grumbling ever closer to the possibility of a new Pulp record. New songs? Absolutely. A new record? Possibly. The band has yet to announce a tour for next year but it is all set to go. Adam Betts revealed as much in an Instagram post calling time with the band “until 2025.” We can stick two and two together, even if our mind has been rattled by being on the phone with British Gas for two hours explaining that, no, nobody has lived here before. Three new songs, a route through how to tour new material and confirmation of more shows next year. It is all coming together whether the band likes it or not. For the ardent followers of the band, the sold-out crowds and the bubbling, welcoming presence of the uber-dedicated on Twitter, there is a clear want for it.
Over a year on from the initial reunion announcement and the excitement of seeing Pulp live still buzzes around. There is a glut of material from We Love Life which remains untouched, unreleased and even underutilised. Those B-Sides, demos and rarities which have leaked their way onto YouTube are some of the band’s finest materials, not just from the writing but the instrumentals too. What better way to tip off the late Steve Mackey than by pulling out his This is Hardcore-era electronic sections and making good on them? The We Love Life demos have already provided extra bits and pieces – it is not like Pulp are strangers to sudden, understated releases. The Last Day of the Miner’s Strike feels all but forgotten yet there it is on Hits. After You was a neat, James Murphy-produced release which shows the band still has what it takes to make contemporary sounds.
Do not strike while the iron is hot, but give us what we want, as part of the saying goes. Are the stars aligning for a proper Pulp reunion behind closed doors, or is it wishful thinking? Whatever the case, there is evidence to the contrary of what Cocker and Banks have said previously. Times and minds can change. Where there once was no appetite for new material, it may have grown. All we can do until word comes from the big man upstairs (or from Banks on Twitter/X) is wait. Speculate. Hope. Would a new album tarnish the legacy Pulp has? Not at all. It gives them the contemporary boost Cocker has always tried for – not least due to his disdain for the “national treasure” status symbol. “If I’m a national treasure, dust me off,” he said back in 2011. He has danced the dirt off and, while the band is at this apex of quality stage presence, the right thing to do is capitalise on it. Release the Sheffield 2012 show footage while you’re at it.
