Following a number of coronavirus-related postponements, Jarv Is…, the new band led by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, have finally released their debut album. Stream Beyond the Pale in full below via Apple Music or Spotify. For a high-definition listening experience, you can sign up for a 60-day free trial of TIDAL HiFi.
Issued through Rough Trade Records, this album marks the first-ever full-length for Jarv Is… and Cocker’s first release of any kind since 2009’s Further Complications. Although it’s tempting to call Beyond the Pale a long-awaited comeback for Cocker, it should be viewed more as a creative reinvention. Along with his bandmates Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesizer and electronic treatments), and Adam Betts (percussion, vocals), Cocker wrote these songs in collaboration with a live audience.
As the story goes, after forming at the end of 2017, Jarv Is… recorded some of their live concerts the following year. Geoff Barrow of Portishead then encouraged them to use those audio tapes as the basis for a new album. And they did — with a few added overdubs and vocals, as well as a bit of post-production sheen courtesy of Buckle, Beyond the Pale was eventually born.
Editors’ Picks
The seven-track collection was teased with early singles “Must I Evolve?”, “Save the Whale”, and “House Music All Night Long”.
Beyond the Pale Artwork:
Beyond the Pale Tracklist:
Side 1:
01: Save the Whale
02: Must I Evolve?
03: Am I Missing Something?
Side 2:
01: House Music All Night Long
02: Sometimes I am Pharaoh
03: Swanky Modes
04: Children of the Echo
