Pulp: More
Rough Trade RT0541LP (2025). James Ford, prod.; Matt Colton, Animesh Ravel, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics **** Too often, a once-loved band or musician resurfaces after a lengthy time away and releases an album that leans on nostalgia, trading on a wellspring of happy fan memory. Twenty-four years after their last album, Pulp has released More. It doesn't fit the pattern. Indeed, on hearing it, all I can say, is: Wow! It's not that it's a massive departure from the Pulp of Different Class (1995). The songs are similar in that they are stories of standard British life with musical nods toward Burt Bacharach and Scott Walker. But then it also isn't just a rehash of past Pulp magic. This is a mature Pulp, Jarvis Cocker in his 60s looking at life and what life has done to him. His spoken interludes sound more profound than they did when he was younger, as though drawing on more life experience. Sometimes he's dwelling on the minutiae of existence, a stylistic inheritance from Ray Davies on numbers including "Tina," about the changing color of her hair, or factories lying empty in "The Hymn of the North." The wry sense of humor remains, but now there's more humanity. Today's Pulp knows the world.
Matching this widescreen experience, producer James Ford and engineers Animesh Ravel and Matt Colton have given the record a cinematic feel, with heavier synths and more and bigger orchestration. This new palette draws on a broader range of colors. "Slow Jam" sees Cocker crooning a slow, sensual, bass-heavy ballad. "Got to Have Love" is a full-on anthemic ABBA-meets–House Music banger. Cocker tells it as it is: "And you sit on your backside for twenty-five years/Hedge your bets and twist and bust/And try and fail and work on an album and build a jail/And lock yourself away." With More, Jarvis got off his backside and started cooking. Every track on it could be a single, and this their Greatest Hits. Wow.—Phil Brett
Lord Huron: The Cosmic Selector, Vol. 1
Mercury Records (auditioned as digital master). 2025. Ben Schneider, Matthew Neighbour, prods.; Neighbour, Mark Berry, Schneider, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics **** Lord Huron's unique musical blend has led to comparisons with groups like Fleet Foxes. There's a cinematic scope to the stories both bands' songs tell, and they take their time letting characters develop. Led by L.A.-based singer-songwriter Ben Schneider, the group has developed a dedicated fan base, known as "Travelers" or "World Enders," who appreciate this intricate approach to storytelling. That loyalty will be tested with the release of this new record.
The title refers to the jukebox-looking device depicted on the cover. All 12 songs seem to cater to the notion that life is a jukebox with infinite selections and that one's fate is determined by how carefully they select a song. This doesn't travel far from the themes addressed in the band's four prior records, but these compositions present a different, more polished and present sound.
The record begins with the lush "Looking Back," a steady, somber track colored by gorgeous cello and harp. It feels like the perfect backdrop to a late-night porch session at the summer lake house. It's delicate, and it reminds listeners of where the band has been.
Things lighten up from there, as the songs abandon atmosphere for a more direct approach. One of the first singles, "Who Laughs Last," features a spoken-word vocal from actress Kristen Stewart. Its new wave melody is anchored to a throbbing bottom end. It sounds more like Eels than Noah Kahan. The storytelling is as crisp as ever, but now it unfolds like a car chase in a film.
Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino appears on "Fire Eternal," a lullaby that dances lightly on top of a syncopated keyboard and reflects the album's shift to sounds more aligned with pop than the cerebral sound of the band's past.—Ray Chelstowski
Craig Finn: Always Been
Tamarac Recordings/Thirty Tigers (auditioned as CD). 2025. Adam Granduciel, prod.; Austin Asvanonda, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***** In his day job as the front man for the band The Hold Steady, Craig Finn explores religion, redemption, and addiction with energy and positive intent. His solo work addresses the same themes, but the characters he presents in his solo role are less fortunate: They often fail to find a way out of their misery.
Finn is a masterful storyteller. His songs are defined by their insightful detail and the irony expressed in his casual asides. Together, this makes the despair his characters feel seem very real.
Finn does that again with this new record, where across 10 songs he tells the story of Nathan, a failed reverend. We arrive after his ministry has come apart and he is spending his days searching for meaning, finishing off drinks that other people left on the bar tops he has been hired to clean. Many of the songs have a meditative tone that fits Finn's Sprechgesang approach to vocals wonderfully. This is especially true on "Fletcher's," a reflection on a long night and the rough morning after suggesting that this is what Nathan's life may "always be." The record closes with an upbeat rocker, "Postcards," one of only two rockers on the album; Finn tries to end the story with a sense of hope.
Always Been was produced by Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs. The guitar and piano parts he provides add effect and dimension, pushing and pulling the songs and the story forward. The album features musical performances by other members of The War on Drugs as well as guest vocals by Kathleen Edwards and Sam Fender.
The album cover is a nod to the 1977 Randy Newman album Little Criminals. The two records share a world view that is often grim. But it's the single-story approach Finn takes here that ties together a record that offers something new to explore with each spin.—Ray Chelstowski
Rough Trade RT0541LP (2025). James Ford, prod.; Matt Colton, Animesh Ravel, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics **** Too often, a once-loved band or musician resurfaces after a lengthy time away and releases an album that leans on nostalgia, trading on a wellspring of happy fan memory. Twenty-four years after their last album, Pulp has released More. It doesn't fit the pattern. Indeed, on hearing it, all I can say, is: Wow! It's not that it's a massive departure from the Pulp of Different Class (1995). The songs are similar in that they are stories of standard British life with musical nods toward Burt Bacharach and Scott Walker. But then it also isn't just a rehash of past Pulp magic. This is a mature Pulp, Jarvis Cocker in his 60s looking at life and what life has done to him. His spoken interludes sound more profound than they did when he was younger, as though drawing on more life experience. Sometimes he's dwelling on the minutiae of existence, a stylistic inheritance from Ray Davies on numbers including "Tina," about the changing color of her hair, or factories lying empty in "The Hymn of the North." The wry sense of humor remains, but now there's more humanity. Today's Pulp knows the world.
Lord Huron: The Cosmic Selector, Vol. 1Mercury Records (auditioned as digital master). 2025. Ben Schneider, Matthew Neighbour, prods.; Neighbour, Mark Berry, Schneider, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics **** Lord Huron's unique musical blend has led to comparisons with groups like Fleet Foxes. There's a cinematic scope to the stories both bands' songs tell, and they take their time letting characters develop. Led by L.A.-based singer-songwriter Ben Schneider, the group has developed a dedicated fan base, known as "Travelers" or "World Enders," who appreciate this intricate approach to storytelling. That loyalty will be tested with the release of this new record.
Craig Finn: Always BeenTamarac Recordings/Thirty Tigers (auditioned as CD). 2025. Adam Granduciel, prod.; Austin Asvanonda, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ***** In his day job as the front man for the band The Hold Steady, Craig Finn explores religion, redemption, and addiction with energy and positive intent. His solo work addresses the same themes, but the characters he presents in his solo role are less fortunate: They often fail to find a way out of their misery.
