A real deep cut for those who did not spend their days searching for Pulp singles in Sunderland’s record stores. My Legendary Girlfriend received a surprising revival under the Jarv Is tour, with Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker performing the song as part of his encore. It was a strong adaptation of the song, one which still keeps that “putting the world to rights” energy but pairs it with a more macabre, modern read on those angsty tones. Even on first release in September 1990, My Legendary Girlfriend was tied to a darker, depressing view of the world. Not just from the song itself, a real gem of a track from Pulp’s discography, but with the B-Sides. A spoken word spark from the seething, Europop-like beat of Is This House? and This House is Condemned. An early example of the band weaving a story through their songs, a style which would work best, arguably, on Intro: The Gift Recordings.
This is where all those common joys come from for Pulp. The spoken-word spots, the cultural commentaries, and the instrumental strength which would have the band become a mainstay in counterculture. An alternative scene is only as strong as the most interesting act of creativity. Considering The Stone Roses’ boom in popularity around this time, that acid house-like charm from My Legendary Girlfriend is the perfect antidote to the pop of the times. It wouldn’t be long until Pulp were the pop scene, but they still held to an alternative current, which makes My Legendary Girlfriend one of their very best early-years achievements. A searing piece of work which promises adventures and awakenings from searching the streets of a Yorkshire city. Deserted factories never sounded so alluring. That patient builds to a euphoric, satisfied cry of the title, the emotional boil, is brilliant.
Pulp aims for liberation in the face of dying cultural surroundings. That is what their songs used to fixate on, a sort of escapism which would, when the band finally did escape their surroundings, catapult them to the top of the charts. Pair it with one of the deepest Pulp cuts of all, Is This House?, and you have a trip into the strangest sounds Pulp would offer. It’s there with That Boy’s Evil and the We Love Life sessions for the hardest to come by offerings, and this eight-minute instrumental jam slapped onto the B-side of My Legendary Girlfriend is more fascinating than anything. Percussion-heavy and with the repetition of the song’s title, creates this moody sense of repetition in the world around us. Separations focused on breaking free from similar surroundings, and adapting Russell Senior’s vocals to a soft prequel is a neat addition to those homegrown struggles.
It’s nothing compared to the original This House is Condemned, a searing, synth-heavy powerhouse. Forget the jam session, that’s merely an interlude to the haunting, questioning tech-house-like qualities of This House is Condemned. A very different instrumental on the singles release of My Legendary Girlfriend compared to what features on Separations. This digitised alternate is a refreshing take on the track, which still features an eerie sense, though with a little more pop persuasion than the album edition. The latter is better. It suits the theme and tone of My Legendary Girlfriend and Separations much better without the drum machines, the clapping noise. In its place is a fax machine on the brink, a suggestive and subtle punchiness which lasts across Separations. My Legendary Girlfriend is to thank for that tone, one which survives well decades on from release.
