Pulp – Party Hard Review 

Partying is not all about the free tequila and the ability to embarrass yourself and others with poor-quality dance moves. Pulp remembers not the hijinks of the dancefloor but the aftershock of it, the paranoia which takes place after a heavy night out. Hangxiety, that feeling of worry which takes hold after one too many pints, is a reality. It was not called that in the 1990s, nor was it the subject of Party Hard. This Pulp single from This is Hardcore heads deeper than regret over drinking one too many beverages. Frontman Jarvis Cocker pulls at the hang-ups of life as a famous individual and is disgusted with what he sees. That regression is confirmed and made good on by the band with Party Hard, a song that sees through the good times and notices the oddities of excess culture, the faux sincerity that comes from those who suggest just one more drink to cap off an already lengthy night.  

This is Hardcore provides some wider context for Party Hard. It’s the only song of the A-side which sounds like a good time could be had. It acts as a wedge between the paranoia-driven The Fear, pairing with the domestic desires of Dishes, and Help the Aged, a song that suggests those partying hard are too old, too obtuse, to do so. The party lifestyle did not suit Cocker, and he shared as much in interviews given well after This is Hardcore had come and gone. In the years after, the reunions to follow, much of This is Hardcore has been re-evaluated not just by the band, but by the listener. Where Party Hard serves as a cutting breakdown of the hollow party culture which still prevails, it now acts as a sincerely hopeful piece. A desire to head home once the party is over, with the people who were present for its most egregious and lavish parts.  

Party Hard remains a brilliant takedown of the party culture, the popular expectations. It was never written about it, but you can overlap this with the party islands in Europe, the places of the world where to be slaughtered on expensive drinks is the purpose. It’s the scene which comes under fire and the coldness of it, rather than the broader experiences. Incredible instrumental work is the neat bow around this mood-changer following Different Class. Some very best moments from Mark Webber and Nick Banks, whose guitar and percussion go a long way in creating a vibrating, paranoid environment. It’s a period of change for Cocker, but for the band most of all. Their deeper and volatile playing here is a fantastic contrast to the stripped-back, slowed tempo of Help the Aged to follow.  

To a greater extent, it remains a poison to the We Love Life antidote. From the party streamer strewn halls of This is Hardcore to the touch of blinding lights and connection with nature, it’s quite the trip. It starts with This is Hardcore, but is punctuated best by Party Hard. A song which you can enjoy for its values as, ironically, a party track, if you switch off your brain. Pay no attention to the creeping psychosis. Just flail your arms to it. Cocker and the band have done an excellent job of reviving their darker tracks and fitting them with a positivity, a reflective hope, as they did with Help the Aged. Party Hard, too, has the chance of being a cautious warning to those taken by the club classics of other artists utilising excess as a culture, rather than a crashout.