Released on Tuesday, the new Pulp single ‘Marrying for Love’ offers a classic — albeit somewhat repetitive — Cocker monologue, set to a pleasantly ascending assortment of electrophones and percussion. A sturdy vocal performance and gliding instrumentals effortlessly generate a song that could be from any period in their catalogue.
Depicting the euphoric loss of virginity, the “pivotal moment in the primal drama,” the song unfolds as a steel-drum sermon. Cocker’s one-sided pillow talk recounts the delirium of the experience, likening the blissful “hallelujah” moment to the fall of Jericho in its momentous nature.
Marriage seems the perfect “loophole in the contract” to enshrine and renew the moment’s magic, as is also suggested by the title. It’s still Pulp and Jarvis Cocker; love should be taken as a stand-in for something more sensual than simple romance. In typical pop poetry fashion, he remarks on marriage’s infinite energy of “erotic rebirth”.
As these elated musings rise in tone, the mounting instrumentals build in tandem, Candida Doyle’s synthesiser intertwining and harmonising with each verse. The heaviest lifting is done by the drums, their stacked polyrhythm and specifically the spirited steel drum adding a rounded dimension to what might otherwise be a somewhat repetitive recitation.
“Jarvis Cocker en el Primavera Sound 2009” by alterna2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.