Pulp have announced they’ve signed to Rough Trade Records. The band’s very short statement on the matter reads, “Rough Trade have managed Pulp for over 30 years so it feels great to be finally on the label. We did it!”
When Pulp finished their show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in September, which was the final night of their North American tour and their final show of 2024, Jarvis Cocker said “This is only the beginning.” The band had been playing loads of new songs at their shows and it was already clear to folks paying attention that this was more than just a short-lived reunion tour. A new Pulp album seemed not just possible but likely.
Rough Trade has also been Jarvis Cocker’s label since Pulp broke up in 2002, first with Relaxed Muscle (his electroclash-era duo with Jason Buckle) and then with his solo albums and his band JARV IS… whose great 2020 album is one of many that got swallowed by the pandemic.
In addition to the likelihood of a new Pulp album, 2025 might also finally bring reissues of Pulp’s albums for Island Records, including Britpop classic Different Class which turns 30 next year. Jarvis and bassist Steve Mackey (who died in 2023) oversaw remasters at Abbey Road back in 2019. But who will be releasing them?
As they say, stay tuned.
In other news, back when Pulp’s tour hit NYC earlier this fall, Jarvis Cocker taped an episode of the Criterion Collection’s “Criterion Closet” YouTube series and that was posted last night. (Coincidental timing?) Let loose in the closet’s shelves and shelves of Blu-rays, Jarvis picked a few titles and talked about them, including: Trainspotting and how Pulp ended up contributing “Mile End” to the soundtrack; The Fantastic Mr Fox, one of a few Wes Anderson films which Jarvis is in; and Pasolini’s infamous Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom which he says he’s owned before but never actually watched. “Maybe now is the time. I’m a big boy, I’m a grownup. I could handle it.” Watch that below.