Jarvis Cocker

For more than two decades, the Britpop act Pulp released music as wry and debonair as any, and Jarvis Cocker, the band’s immensely charismatic frontman, became a figurehead for the urbane and clever set. When Pulp dissolved in 2002, Cocker kick-started a solo career that’s involved lots of talk-show appearances, a much ballyhooed contribution to Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (he’s in the Weird Sisters alongside Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood), and two well-received releases: 2006’s Jarvis and the recent Further Complications. The latter album, produced by Steve Albini, shows Cocker in fine form—observant, dry, and brimming with acerbic wit.

Updated 07/22/2009