|
|
Jarvis
Brighton, The Dome
Article written by
Alex S - Jun 19, 2009
|
|
|
Jarvis
|
Jarvis is one of those pop icons, alongside people like Weller or Morrissey, about whom casting the tiniest aspersion seemed sacrilege somehow. Yet mirroring these avatars when they too embarked on a solo career, Jarvis rejected his Pulp back catalogue completely tonight. It took Weller 6 years to embrace his legacy and Morrissey until his watershed Roundhouse gig of 2008. Let’s hope it doesn’t take Jarvis that long.
It was a brilliant start that sped downhill. Jarvis swaggered on stage resplendent in full beard and tweed jacket, waving his walking stick accusatory at the crowd and goading us to remember the last time it appeared. A year ago in fact on this very stage, at his lecture on the relevance of lyrics in pop music. Most of us had been there that night, which was half the problem. Jarvis is a raconteur par excellence, and that night his wit and observational genius shone through. Tonight, with the lyrics lost somewhere deep within the Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, Auteurs) sound and production of new album ‘Further Complications’; plus the muddy mix in the Dome, one wondered where he’d gone. New songs like ‘Angela’ and ‘Further Complications’, epitomised the plodding-rock the new album has been criticised for. Which is a shame, because lyrically Jarvis has returned to his favourite themes, of sex, frustration, romance and fantasy. And whilst his between song banter was sharp, there was a distinct impression he was trying just a little too hard – his rambling introduction to ‘Caucasian Blues’ about the ‘Englishness’ of the Recorder a prime example - and English hands felt clumsy as a consequence.
It picked up when the music softened and Jarvis started to sing rather than mumble. ‘Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time’ and ‘Big Julie’ from ‘Jarvis’, the first solo album shone brightly, as did the drama of ‘Slush’ from the latest. It’s tempting to try and interpret his performance - he appeared a bit irascible and bitter at times - in the light of his recent relationship break up but I don’t think there’s any mileage in that. Still, the obvious marginalising of his band is worth a footnote. Shrouded in sepia red the whole evening, you hardly knew they existed. Apart from a risible 10 second guitar solo and an excruciating exchange with the saxophonist – Jarvis forgetting the instrument he was playing – they might as well have not been there. Jarvis didn’t come down in yesterday’s shower. This was deliberate, and a mistake. Accentuating band personalities is one of the fundamental building blocks of ‘live’ music.
However, the final song silenced, utterly, the niggling voices of misgiving. ‘You’re in my Eyes’ from the latest album is an incredible piece of classic disco and harks back to Pulp’s love of disco/funk. With a straight bat and without irony it is an ‘end of the night’ song about a lost love. Tender and warm with its brittle chorus and breathless narrative, his voice leading us gently into an adjoining room where love might dwell. Heartbreaking stuff to a pulsating disco beat. Worth the admission price alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- RSS Feed 
