Freaks

This is Fire Records' 1993 CD release of Pulp's second album. The fly-by-night Pulp fans, attracted by the pop heights of Different Class, were duly scared off by what was deemed Pulp's "dark" album, This Is Hardcore. What they didn't realize was that there has always been a darker edge to Pulp, as illustrated brilliantly on Freaks. Released during a particularly grim period of the '80s, it has a bleak but brilliantly experimental style, with hints of Eastern European folk and '60s balladeering. The second Pulp album, 1986's Freaks sees several changes from the band's debut of three years prior. The overall mood is much more sinister and aggressive (the album's subtitle is Ten Songs about Power, Claustrophobia, Suffocation, and Holding Hands), alternately recalling such early Smiths tracks as "Suffer Little Children" and some of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "The Carny." Freaks also finds main lyricist Jarvis Cocker handing over the vocal reins to guitarist Russell Senior on two particularly creepy songs. The first, "Fairground," opens the album with a swirling tale of a freak show, while the second, "Anorexic Beauty," is an ode to a distressingly thin woman ("Brittle hands and thin cigarettes, so hard to tell apart"). Elsewhere, "Being Followed Home" presents a story of stalking set against a carnival-esque musical backing. The music builds in intensity, playing over and over as the narrator's fear upon hearing the footsteps of a stranger increase. Freaks is an altogether disquieting album.