Reviews
"...Cocker's sweeping songs are laced with snarling cynicism and harsh, verbal shots of reality -- the perfect vehicle for his snide, tounge-in-cheek delivery...", Included in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 1998in, "...Compared with the unimaginative language that fill up far too many current pop or rock discs, Cocker's lyrics--brought to life by his dry, jaundiced-dandy voice--are miniature literay salons unto themselves....an oasis of musicality..." - Rating: A-, 8 (out of 10) - "...On THIS IS HARDCORE, Pulp makes it clear they have outgrown Britpop and belong right up there with Ray Davies and Costello and Morrissey, those who look at England with a satirist's eye and a balladeer's heart...", 7 (out of 10) - "...THIS IS HARDCORE is a Pulp LP as you know one only in as much as it's a concept LP about life and the weirdness of everything. It is Pulp: The Sequel...", 3 stars out of 5 -- "The record is sublime, finding real musical guile for all the fear and loathing.", 4 stars out of 5 -- "THIS IS HARDCORE plays like a bleak but prophetic soundtrack for a cheap and nasty 21st century Britain..."
