Jarv Is – Slow Jam Review

One of the great joys for those struck by a paralyzing feeling of uncertainty and ill-focus is listening to gigs you previously attended. Jarv Is at The Boiler Shop in Newcastle was a fascinating experience where Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker displayed French songs, deep cuts from the famed band behind Common People and debuted tracks which, three years later, are nowhere to be heard. Rediscover Slow Jam, then, which was dubbed Bad Friday also according to the preamble from Cocker here. Like other unreleased song Proceed to the Route, the chances of ever hearing Slow Jam from the studio are unlikely. Pulp is back, their guitars still tuned as we head into the New Year. The Jarv Is tone does not suit the Cocker-fronted outfit but they do serve as a neat delve into his solo works, which entertain the idea of large spaces and larger ideas.  

Slow Jam benefits well from the Jarv Is experience. Recording live songs and giving them a touch-up in the studio is not a new route but it benefits Beyond the Pale and the songs to follow. Cocker is a slick frontman who leans into the accidents and mistakes of the stage. His religiously charged Slow Jam revolves around the life and death of Jesus Christ, the open dialogue with the figurehead sharing pains across history. Frankly, it takes several leaves from the Nick Cave book of identifying faith as a poignant but everyday problem for people. Those string sections and softer keyboard notes lend themselves to that feeling. Cocker gives it his all, a spoken-word-like fine-tuning of usual topics in his repertoire. Sex and religion go hand in hand for the frontman here, with slick lyrical choices made throughout. 

From the biblical references to the threesome which adds imagination as a third player in the back-and-forth, Slow Jam may be some of Cocker’s best writing and it is damnable to not hear a studio version. Yet the point of the Jarv Is project is for the live works to speak for themselves, to fulfil the energies of this cosmic pursuit. Cocker, in hindsight, seems to be honing those live skills as ever, weaving a sex-oriented narrative while withholding and reducing the usual suspects of love put to song. It made Beyond the Pale a slick offering and it should be no surprise Slow Jam followed suit, ducking into religious affray as a way of exonerating the anxieties of the time. There is plenty to fear but Slow Jam cuts through brilliantly.  

Listen in to those shows from the past, then. They are often a treat and for those wanting more from the Jarv Is project, the best way to get that is from the bootleg live recordings circling the internet. Slow Jam is a classy number, one which could go down as some of the finest writing Cocker has ever put out there on the stage. Its lack of release is heartbreaking but push on through, plant yourself in the middle of The Boiler Shop crowd and take in those glories. This is a song where the representation of pop artist, as heard on The Jarvis Cocker Record and Further Complications is reduced, removed almost entirely as the pursuit of art-pop in this semi-retired state continues. But Cocker is back in fighting form, a prolific creator with books, big stage shows and brilliant material tucked away, waiting to be released.