Sadly, with Jarvis Cocker having finally married and moved to France, it very much looks as if Pulp's career has unofficially come to an end. As good a time as any, then, to re-visit their many high points with this somewhat ironically titled compilation album. The Sheffield misfits had, of course, had to wait over a decade before anyone paid them any attention at all, but when fame finally arrived, their observational powers, kitchen-sink dramas and heightened sense of geeky cool meant that they towered over the Britpop competition. Sensibly, Hits includes just one pre-fame single ('Razzamatazz') and draws heavily from their 1995 breakthrough Different Class album, backed up with material from its morbid, underrated follow-up This Is Hardcore and this year's valedictory We Love Life. It also includes one new song, 'Last Day Of The Miners' Strike', which is characteristically sharp, poignant and fully worthy of inclusion. A fitting way to remember a genuinely seminal band.
