Pulp takes a trip down memory lane with Cold Call on the Hot Line. Those whirring synths, which sparked a fire under the band around the release of Intro: The Gift Recordings is slotted back into place. Keyboardist Candida Doyle has made it clear where her favourite Pulp recordings come from, and this has a smacking of 59 Lyndhurst Grove to it. Crucial for both Marrying for Love and Cold Call on the Hot Line is understanding that, while great songs they may be, neither fits the outlook or themes present on More. The band’s first album in twenty-four years has such a tightness from song to song, the lost loves and new sound brought on by producer James Ford, parts of Jarvis Cocker’s solo project Jarv Is, and the Elysian Collective, that looking back beyond writing of the past would be too much. It’d have capsized a perfect return. Cold Call on the Hot Line in isolation is a wonderful piece of Pulp’s history. As close as the band may ever get to engaging with their former sound.
Deadlines and dead lines offer a smart moment from Jarvis Cocker early into this single. Much like the ill-forgotten but brilliant Ansaphone, the conversation over the phone feels quite retro. Different Class had a few of those moments to it but without this tone. His ‘n’ Hers would’ve found a spot for Cold Call on the Hotline. Crucial to that point, though, is that this More demo does not sound dated. It may use the same instrumental scope as those mid-1990s pieces, but what it does not do is sink into the comforts of the past. Cocker sounds as though he’s getting a few ideas out of his system which don’t quite align with the rest of More. Stuck on hold and waiting for an answer turns into an instrumental break, while a few fuzzy moments for the vocals mean Cocker and the band has successfully replicated that old phone tone. That slight fuzz, the tinny robot ready to breach the nervy, other end of the line.
Cold Call on the Hot Line will feel like a nostalgic track for those who remember the dead ringer, the wrong numbers, and hopeful calls to would-be lovers. But for those who never experienced that, for those tethered to wireless devices, it’ll be a glimpse into a world which inspired some of Pulp’s best songs. Cold Call on the Hot Line can stand on its own, independent of those historic crutches; that much is crucial. It can never quite get out of the shadow of that previous, popular sound, though it’s not as though such a sound is going to hinder Pulp’s efforts here. Similar to Marrying for Love, the lyrics feel a bit hasty but are welcome observations all the same. The song’s story builds itself around a singular theme, and there isn’t anywhere else for Cold Call on the Hot Line to go after the dial tone kicks in.
A rehash of Ansaphone? Not quite. But Pulp has been down this route of creativity before, and what you’ll find with Cold Call on the Hot Line is a bit of an old-school blowout. It’s as though they needed to get it out of their system, to establish what the new album shouldn’t sound like. A great song, a throwback to what the band can still do occasionally, but has since moved on from doing. It captures all the essence and charm of those mid-1990s showcases, but it’s best left off of More. The right choice was made. Like the Suede albums of recent memory and the Blur reunion, nostalgia is not the lead reason for Pulp’s reunion. To pin their hopes of success on a song dipped in classic song structure would be short-changing the stronger, contemporary work of More. An incredible listen all the same, this and Marrying for Love are wonderfully satisfying pieces of work.
