Pulp: This Is Hardcore (Island CID 8066)

OF ALL the Britpop stars, it was always going to be Jarvis Cocker who would grapple most readily with encroaching maturity. Having dealt unflinchingly on previous albums with the more sordid aspects of sexuality, he's the only current pop wordsmith qualified to take on the great pop taboo of age, a nettle he grasps with some firmness on This Is Hardcore. So though the album is less instant, and less instantly classic, than Different Class, its increased depth pays extra dividends.