This Is Hardcore
by Pulp

Shortlisted for the 1998 Mercury Music Prize. The winner was Bring It On by Gomez (Edited)

From Tengachaya 01/13/2023 14:04 | #292802

One of the most underrated albums of all time. In my opinion, it is Pulp's best work. (Edited)

A dark album that feels like the group has properly matured and this gloomy nature has spawned out of it. The whole record feels like a funeral to Brit Pop and like this record is closing out the short run it endured which works perfectly in my opinion as there wasn't anywhere else it could go. They demonstrate this with the use of more intelligent and complex compositions scattered amongst chorus led tracks that still posses the jingly, positive feel of the genre but they are manipulated and twisted which gives us the idea of this being the end. I think they really nailed the sound and style they were going for on this record and the atmosphere we get to wallow in is just brilliant. Lyrically, it is phenomenal as the words have gone from being light hearted and humourful to thought provoking and dark. They are a joy to explore and the vocal is unique and very powerful. The greatest tracks on the record would be The Fear, Dishes, Help The Aged and I'm A Man. Then there is one of my favourite songs of all time in Sylvia which I fall in love with even more every time I listen to it. One rather large weakness I do find with this record though is the elongated final song and I really think it holds up the record and drags down its quality. Overall, there is so much to love about this record with its darker tone and mature sound which makes it an album not to be missed.

From Jboy56 03/03/2022 08:28 | #282183

Best song: Glory Days.
Dark and quite depressing messages, songs are also too long .

From teague 07/03/2020 20:00 | #254993

This Is Hardcore is a bit underwhelming (and overwhelming) after hearing Different Class. Every song seems to try to be Common People, making this a very laborious listen. Pretty much every song overstays their welcome, even the shorter ones seem to meander. And while none of it is particularly bad, it's all very overblown.

Opening half is great and the second half is good for me. But overall a very good album

Favorite Tracks:Seductive Barry

Dark, depressive, and the perfect funeral for Britpop. Glory Days is absolutely phenomenal (Edited)

From nitomano 09/27/2018 04:17 | #221737

El album en conjunto lo disfruté más que Different Class, que también es muy bueno pero temas como The Fear, This is Hardcore, Dishes y Sylvia son algunos de mis favoritos de la banda. Un Disco bastante recomendable.

Excellent follow up to the epic "Different Class". The songwriting is just as sharp, although with a little less humor.