Freaks

Review

Proto-Pulp, unrefined and slightly awkward, but skulking somewhere near a signature sound
During the recording of 1986's Freaks, Pulp leader Jarvis Cocker was reportedly living with a junkie in a Sheffield attic. Judging by the overall tone of the album, though, his bandmates were enjoying even less glamourous personal circumstances. Aided by some oppressive production, gloom — bordering on gothic during the Bauhaus-esque “Master of the Universe” — pervades each composition. Fear abounds, whether it's in the form of a deadly stalker, suffocation or just guitarist Russell Senior having a stab at vocal duties. (“Fairground,” “Anorexic Beauty.”)

This is proto-Pulp, unrefined and slightly awkward, but skulking somewhere near a signature sound. The hushed Jarvis monologue on “Being Followed Home” sets the standard for many a menacing mumble of the future, and disturbing subject matter would remain a group staple. Here though, the moments of highest quality arrive via a subtler form of misery, as in the desperate, obsessive longing of “I Want You,” or the squalid bitterness of “Life Must Be So Wonderful.”