They may love life but will the public still love Pulp? If there's any justice the answer should be yes - this may be a less immediate album than Different Class or This Is Hardcore but ultimately it's just as rewarding. With Scott Walker on board as producer, this peculiarly unsettling record ranges from edgy, uptempo pop to epic monologues about Sheffield folklore - distinguished throughout by Jarvis Cocker's wry, sharply observed lyrics. We Love Life isn't perfect: there's no obvious single to match Common People and it peters out a little towards the end. For the most part, however, it's a complex, fascinating collection of leftfield pop that confirms the band as one of the few Britpop survivors to emerge with their dignity intact.
