This Is Hardcore

This was tough to get through

That NINE-MINUTE-LONG synth outro really encapsulated what annoyed me about this album

Can one be racist against Brit Pop? If so I'm the Grand Wizard!

wow. Underwhelming to say the least.

More Britrock slop.

This was not for me. Mid/down tempo generic rock with a Bowie affectation. Meh.

Not for me

Straight trash. Why this band has two albums on this list (so far) is beyond me. Music isn’t good, lyrics aren’t good. Just bad, bland English garbage.

no idea what's happening

Jarvis Cocker BritPop halt dunno? c

Buh, no

Need a vocalist who can sing

Okay. Skip. No thanks. Aight Ba ba ba ba baaaaa. Guys this is hardcore. Tbh I didn’t care to finish this album.

not my cuppa tea

My goodness what a drag. Not helped by the fact that this is the second Pulp album in two days I've had to listen to. This one is even more a load of nothingness. I wouldn't know how to describe this album. It is a pretentious Bowie album, but there are no highlights on this album at all. The never-ending outro on the last song is symbolic for the pretentious load of horsedung on this album. Easy 1/5

I should give another listen sometime to see if I still feel the same. 3/10

i was over this album halfway through. there were some decent songs on here but an absolutely incredible amount of filler. i was between a 2 and a 3 until i hit the last song which had a 10 minute one synth chord outro. i kept listening expecting it to kick back into the song or go into a hidden track but nothing ever materialized. wish i wouldve read the reviews mentioning it before i listened to the whole thing. either way it loses points for adding to an album that was already too long.

3/10 - Gave up with this album. Too slow and dreary.

Not for me. 1/5

Ok

I dislike most things about this album. I don't like the style, I don't like how long it is, and it's not at all hardcore. It almost seems like they're going for a kind of Bowie-ish sound, but they miss the mark by so far. I will actively avoid listening to this record in the future.

Never heard of them.

It’s been a day slightly dusty from some ill-advised Father’s Day-related revelry yesterday; in touching distance of memories of having tried, and failed, to eat a hangover into submission (I didn’t bother today, that’s personal growth for you). Pulp’s “This is Hardcore” therefore arrives at a moment when feeling restless within the project of trying to get something done is a very real existential fact. This record sounds absolutely huge at times, even comically so. Big, bombastic swings of sound – crescendo layered atop crescendo – rubbing, suggestively, up against jagged guitar licks – all of it accompanied by Jarvis Cocker’s slightly-miffed-host schtick. Yet for all the talk of parties being over and the like, this album is so clearly and self-consciously representative of the end of something that I find it a challenge to remain engaged. It’s the sound of britpop gently running out of steam; a charmless droning on, the sun coming up and illuminating a kitchen full of one-sided conversations. By “The Day After the Revolution” – a song that genuinely offends me in its inanity – it’s everyone in taxis to sleep it off. My patience today may be thin, but regardless I think I’d find the “if you remember the 90s you weren’t there” energy of this record to be a truly tiring thing to repeatedly have to encounter. I do remember the 90s, I just don’t remember this album being there. And on both scores, I don’t feel like I missed anything all that important.

I tried to be onboard but this melancholy throughout the album just never blossomed into anything exciting.

Meh. Seemed to me to try too much to channel or mimic Lou Reed or that genre. No melody or lyrics or other hook to grab the listener. If I was in a bad mood perhaps I could have gotten into it more.

★☆☆☆☆ (1 out of 5) As a Gen X Britpop fan who grew up on the sounds of Blur, Suede, and of course early Pulp, This Is Hardcore was a real letdown for me. I went in hoping for more of that clever, catchy wit that made Different Class such a standout. Instead, I got an album that felt grim, cold, and a bit too wrapped up in its own sleaze. Some tracks had moments—there were flashes of what made Pulp great—but overall, it didn’t land. The title track especially left a bad taste. It tries to be dark and dramatic, but to me it came off as creepy in all the wrong ways. Honestly, it gave off this unsettling, almost predatory vibe that I just couldn’t shake. Not cool, not clever—just off-putting. The musicianship is solid, and Jarvis still has that unique voice, but good vocals can’t save songs that make you feel uncomfortable for the wrong reasons. It’s not an album I’ll revisit. One play was more than enough. If you're into the Britpop sound, there are far better ways to spend your time. Give this one a miss.

This is an hour of my life I will never get back

There are better Pulp albums- not for me

This is not hardcore. Just more of the same tiresome British alt-rock with bellowing masquerading as singing

every pulp song sounds like an interlude or b side meant to kill time until they do common people

Didn't like it

Rätt tråkigt även som bakgrundsmusik, kommer inte lyssna på igen.

There was nothing hardcore about this album. The music was uninspiring and boring.

This sucks lol. It's like if a theater kid tried to make post punk. 1/5

Älskar inte denna. Låtarna är helt enkelt inte starka nog IMO. Det finns inte mycket som är UNIKT med denna platta heller.

Nope. I didn’t enjoy anything about this experience. I don’t have any friendly thoughts about this album or band at this point in their career. Maybe a vague less genuine and likable version of David Bowie which I assume is why this is on this list because the author has a fondness of all things Bowie. But this isn’t good for anyone. I feel like I need to take a shower after listening to this just to get it off me. They say that you can’t unsee things but I hope age will give me the kindness's of unhearing this album. 🤮 Sylvia was okay

The end of the first song: yeah dude you're not cool or edgy you dip shit. The end of the last song: I don't remember how long was it, I think it was between 7 to 10 minutes. To whoever fell asleep on the button in the studio during recording. I understand that life can be rough and exhausting sometimes. We've all been there. But.... doesn't excuse you to fall asleep mid recording and give this piece of shite of the soundtrack to the world. Sleep better and produce better music and not this shite.

My brain feels like it's been beaten to a pulp after listening to this mess.

If I could read this a zero I would.

There is something about this album that really frustrates me

nah

Fav song: A Little Soul This was apparently Jarvis Cocker’s horny album. There’s not much I like at all about this album, not a fan of the performance and delivery of the lyrics, not a fan of the flimsy sounding production, and generally I find Pulp’s sound to be a bit cheesy. Combined with the horniness of this album it all turns into a big old ball of things I just plain don’t like.

I previously had Different Class, and I strongly disliked it. This follow up only amplified what didn't work for me. I was searching the reviews to see if anyone else had the same reasons for hating this, and I found a fellow 1 star who wrote a breakdown last January evaluating the lyrics that's perfect. I still don't like his voice, but I might if he did anything interesting with it. But it's mostly the lyrics that make me scrunch my nose and curl my lips. I don't care if many of the song were loosely based on some fictionalized Barry White character. The common narrator of these two albums I've listened to it still Jarvis Cocker, and this narrator is a cringey creep. I almost feel bad giving it 1 star because the rest of the band is good, but they needed a different lyricist / frontman. I only give 1 star if I truly dislike every single song, and this meets the criteria.

1.5. I expected it to be more hardcore

Well. There goes any worries about genre ambiguity. Hardcore Punk. Or just beat down Hardcore like Terror? We shall see. It could be an elaborate ruse meant to bait me but that simply cannot be. What??? Wait a second?? Is this just an intro to the hardcore album? It’s really long for that. Alright guys you got me. Can’t wait for the Discharge influence to really break through on the next one. My commitment to this dead/dying bit aside, I can’t decide how I feel about this right away. There’s a melodramatic, theatrical element that I hate, but there are some nice moments of melody as well. “I’m not Jesus but I’ve got the same initials.” I audibly groaned. This almost feels like something I’d like if it had any shred of likability. Does that make sense? Bah. I’m sure none of my reviews have anyway, so why start now? These lyrics are awful. Bordering on a joke song where I’m still waiting for the punch line. Oh god this song is horrible. It makes me want to party in the style of John Belushi. Overdosing and dying. Maybe I’ll fade out before the end of this song! Another boring song. Everything feels very tongue in cheek, but also devoid of anything to say. What are we being subversive against? This is Hardcore. Again. The false advertising. This sounds like a film score and due to the lack of vocals, probably starts better than any song on this album thus far. And there they are. After hearing “you are hardcore, you make me hard,” I would typically skip but I said I’d do this right. I have to be here. This is the background music to a terrible sex scene in a show about young people written by old people. Dreadful. Holy shit it’s not over? Bottom of the barrel here. Can only elevate from this point. I might break it up with an Agnostic Front song or two. The vocals are so bloody obnoxious. Swamp fumes levels. Miasmic stench rippling off of every belch from this pretentious dolt. And this was the best song so far. Still, not good. The giggle before “Try me,” made me punch the screen. Awful. This is Type O Negative afflicted by a horrible blood disease. Those affected “baritone” vocals. Look up BoDaddy Harris on instagram. Some weird man who essentially belches songs. This has to be his favourite band. Hopefully the singer was restrained and also cast off to sea. Oh no he’s back. STOP SINGING ABOUT SEX. YOU ARE GROSS. Hey. The lyrical content is vomit inducing, especially coming from this fella, but at least the slow pulse of the song fits the vocal delivery. The whispered soliloquy halfway through this marathon through broken glass has genuinely made me asexual. Hahahahahah. When he tries to exhibit range. Fuck. Also, how many allegations does this guy have on the books? How many *off* the books?? You should apologize to me. Not Sylvia. This is almost a decent song. It sounds like an Oasis song went through the paces at a Steven Seagal vocal delivery camp and was then slowed to half speed. We really are in the glory days! This album is almost over! Besides a FOURTEEN minute escapade to fully bring this medical waste barge to port. 10 minutes of ambient chime interrupted by this moron saying “bye bye.” Just shut up. Man. I get such a pretentious feel from this. While not Type O Negative, I think they might actually relate more to Type AB+. The universal recipient. They offer nothing to anybody. They only take. It took my time, my ear space and even small amounts of electricity. Everything has a disgusting, unctuous sheen that makes this so thoroughly unlikable. Add in bad clap sound effects, fairy tale swells and slap a girl on the cover. You’ve got “This is Hardcore.” Music for people with a pocket full of rohypnol who think they’re the smartest person in the room. 0-0.5 HIGHLIGHTS: I almost forgot to include this section! That was close.

This album took me 4 hours to listen through. There are parts of songs I like but no songs I particularily enjoyed. More birtish rock-slop. Spilled a bunch of paint at work to Sylvia. Overall cursed/5

boring as -

So annoying and pretentious that I can’t even get through one song. This band is wildly overrated.

It wasn't enjoyable

More lame shit britpop

Interesting at best.

Nope. Not for me. This album seems like it searching for its sound… and doesn’t find it. Sounds like a Bowie cover band.

Post New Wave The Cure? This is like if The Cure and The Velvet Underground/Lou Reed had a baby. Every song reminds me of some other band, Urge Overkill is coming to mind. Nine Inch Nails Light? Bowie, U2, maybe I'm not listening closely enough. It's not super compelling but it is also listenable. Ten minutes of fade noise with Jarvis Cocker saying "bye-bye" in the middle on the last song is inexcusable artiness with no real payoff.

Horrible. Jarvis Cocker's unmusical warbling had me, at times, wondering as to whether this was a parody album. This Is Hardcore feels like a lengthy joke meandering towards a non-existent punchline.

on different class there was some interesting stuff going on sonically in spite of Cocker's massively unlistenable voice. here, the music is boring and his voice still sounds like he's auditioning for the part of a carefree and lively tree on a nicktoons animated series

Pretty grungy Brit rock. Some of the songs sound like something Cake would do. I feel like there are bands before, and after pulp that do this sound better. I find the writing to be underwhelming.

Not my thing either.

This ... is ... crap.

This is not hardcore.

New to Pulp from this list. I can now confirm I don't like this band. Will I listen to again: 0%

How many Pulp albums are on this list? So annoying and pretentious that I can’t even get through one song. This band is wildly overrated.

not my thing

Quiet, whisper rock that did nothing for me.

No me ha gustado. Muy típicas las canciones y además insoportables

Not good

Guitars are rad but vocals are neither captivating or insightful. Shitty David Bowie.

Still don't care for Pulp. And it's definitely not hardcore.

Echt een stom album, een soortcslap aftreksel van david bowies muziek. Niet mijn smaak.

Boring

1. the fear - 1 2. dizhez - 1 3. party hard - 1 4. help the aged - 1 5. thiz iz hardcore - 1 6. tv movie - 1 7. a little zoul - 1 8. im a man - 1 9. zeductive barry - 1 10. zeductive zylbvia - 1 11. glory dayz - 1 12. the day after the revolution - 1

Don’t see how this makes it into this sort of list, very forgettable pop music, I couldn’t find anything to like

If you close your eyes, you can believe this album is Dracula: the musical. Not as cool as the album cover would lead you to believe.

I don’t know what this is supposed to be.

Nee, das ist an einigen, wenigen Stellen bestenfalls mittelmäßig. Wer soll sich DAS denn über 70 Minuten anhören? Was für eine absolute Frechheit. Überschätztes Album einer maßlos überschätzten Band.

Good god this was AWFUL. WAYY too long. too boring. voice bad. music bad. NO GOOD.

it most definitely is not hardcore and I was upset about it the whole time. rather boring record, small moments of intrigue here and there but it’s just not doing it for me.

150 dagenssia sitten.. annettiin kyseiselle bändille viiden tähden petkutuksen.. ainoa indie albumi kerhossa...SUURIN VIRHEENI KOSKAAN.. tänään tapahtuu niin sanottu korjausliike heh... kaksi subjektiivista = objektiivinen...heh... double negative... ensimmäistä biisiä viedään ja PÄÄTÖS JO TEHTY...kymmenetttä biisiä viedään ja on aika heikkoa kyl paria humpakkia lukuun ottamatta this is hardcore

No

Booooring. Strictly mid. Doesnt belong on the list. 1/5

Didnt enjoy this one

Mahhh. Blahhh. British Pop Rock Blahh. Not my style at all.

Couldn’t make it through the first song. Rolling Stone is a joke. Can we get a better curator?

Not my thing

Between the cringy lyrics and the sex doll looking woman on the cover, this might be the ultimate incel album. Well, at least my skip button got plenty of action.

Great album art, but the music inside is rather flaccid and weak. This is Not Hardcore is more LIMPcore if 'core at all. I'd rather liken this to eating dinner on the couch in a dark flat while watching reruns of Benny Hill - whereas 'dinner' consists of McVitie's Chocolate Digestives, Jaffa Cakes and Kool-Aid. That is, I would rather listen to much anything Morrissey has to say about animal rights and gender identity than replay this drivel again. Hmm, actually that's too harsh, I'm sorry, Pulp, I take that back. But my point is that this album is really sad, and despite the cover art, disappointingly uninspired.

Further proof that Pulp is entirely overrated and Jarvis Cocker in particular is an overrated lyricist. His lousy lyrics are only rivaled by his annoying voice. Jarvis, we know you’re not Jesus - you don’t need to tell us. “This is Hardcore” is not hardcore at all, and seals the deal on orange juice-related band names. Cranberry juice never has pulp. And The Cranberries are more than deserving of at least one of the three spots taken up by Pulp and Orange Juice. The Cranberries “No Need To Argue” stood out amongst a 1994 filled with amazing albums, and filled a unique spot in mid-90s alternative rock. In a year of terrific music, “Zombie” is one of the most iconic, impactful, and long-lasting hits. Strain out the ⭐️ Pulp and replace it with the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cranberries.

The album is 65 minutes of utterly, irredeemable shite! And 5 minutes of somewhat interesting guitar work (Glory Days) ruined by terrible vocals. This is yet another less than mediocre band with a singer that can’t sing who tries to sing and miserably failed. To be consistent with other rankings I should give this a 2 based on not being overly offended by the music. But I am overly annoyed. Music is boring. Vocals are awful. And it drags on for 70 minutes! -1 star for the extra suffering. NME ranked this the 166th greatest album of all time. Holy fuck that’s offensive. Finery put in the 1001 list. Bollocks! Is everyone fucking insane?

The name of this album is misleading, there is nothing hardcore about this album. This is the soundtrack of being trapped in a bad 90's teen movie. I feel like I'm stuck at some open campus high school in Southern California, desperately trying to exit the campus but am met with a barrage of kids wearing leather jackets over flannel shirts. This is not good. It fails at being angsty or hardcore. Please get me out.

No thanks. Not just one starring racy covers, either.

I wish this was a hardcore album. While I doubt Pulp would've put out a punk classic the running time would've been much shorter. Instead we get some Bowie worship that just isn't that appealing to me. It would've been a 2 star but it met the 1 star criteria: I couldn't wait for it to end and had to listen to something I liked afterward to get the "stank" out. I don't like Pulp in my o.j. and I don't seem to like it in my music library

Pf

I have tried many times but just can't quite get into Pulp. Really the most disappointing of the Britpop elite. This album is no different. Nothing really struck me as worth listening to again and I was looking forward to it ending. 1.5/5

What an awful album. Just sad, mediocre singing and uninspiring music. Yeesh. 2/10.

eeh

I was not even able to finish this one, the union between the music and the vocals seems unfinished, the lyrics are good but this seemed like such a boring album for me, and I’m really into 90s bands

It's pretty repetitive for an art rock album. The singer's voice gets pretty annoying after a while as it's super breathy and screamy. The backing guitar sound like a rip-off of other band's sounds, and the whole ensemble feels unoriginal and uninteresting. The second half of the album is worse than the first, but that's not to say the first is any good.

Some of the lyrics are interesting but that is about all I can take from this. This album is not for me.

Erg slappe hap, totaal niet mijn ding

Wat een swing - doet meteen denk aan de Buena vista social club. Verder niet echt mijn smaak, maar wel leuk als afwisseling.