Disco 2006: Jarvis Cocker's Comeback

By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
After a dismally-received Hits collection in 2003, Britpop titans Pulp quietly went on hiatus and their leader Jarvis Cocker dropped off the pop culture radar. This fall, he returned (at least in the UK) with a flurry of reissues that celebrated Pulp's glory days -- a collection of the band's Peel Sessions plus three expanded, double-disc deluxe editions of His N Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore -- and an eponymous solo album that finds Jarvis in prime form. He may not be the superstar he was a decade ago, but Jarvis illustrates that Cocker is making music worthy of his legacy while the reissues prove that Pulp's best albums are still potent, addictive pop.