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Further Complications
Rating: 7.7 | 0 User Reviews | Send to Friend
By Rick Sieber
Perhaps looking to shake things up a bit on his second solo outing, Jarvis Cocker enlists the production skills of the formidable Steve Albini for an odd-couple pairing of two very different (yet surprisingly compatible) talents. At first glance Cocker’s flamboyant foppishness contrasts rather sharply with Albini’s brooding intensity and cultivated anonymity. Yet, Further Complications benefits immensely from the juxtaposition, with Albini adding considerable sonic bite to Cocker’s customary verbal wit in near-symbiotic fashion. Rather than being overwhelmed by the tough production, Cocker’s arch lyrics (“In the beginning there was nothing / to be honest, that suited me just fine”) gain a visceral punch that (mostly) keeps their calculated witticisms from descending to the level of groan-inducing pun (a notable exception being the opening line of the seemingly Albini-free “Leftovers”). Of course, it’s not just Albini who livens things up here, as Cocker also benefits from a particularly rough and ready backing band: rarely (if ever) has the man rocked this hard. That’s not to say that Further Complications is an all out rock album, or without its lighter moments (the lazy, saxified manifesto “I Never Said I Was Deep” and the atmospheric “Slush” among them) – this is still the Jarvis Cocker of neurotic pop come-ons and detailed dissections of modern life. That he’s pushing into new sonic territory -- this effectively and this late in the game -- shows that his restless ambition is also still firmly intact. (Rough Trade)
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