Further Complications
by Jarvis Cocker
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Rolling Stone
    70
    Produced by Steve Albini, Cocker's excellent second solo disc sets hilariously over-the-top come-ons to bruising garage rock and woozy soul.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    The result is an absolute pleasure.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    80
    Unlike the best of those artists, however, the variety of ideas on Further Complication do not have a uniform success rate to bond them, and this is what stops the album short of reaching classic status.
  5. Pitchfork
    65
    While his songwriting remains funny and incisive at 45, ostensibly ballsier numbers like 'Fuckingsong' and 'Angela' veer dangerously close to bar-band boneheadedness.
  6. cokemachineglow
    83
    It’s his most focused album in over a decade, and ought to absolutely kill onstage.
  7. AllMusic
    90
    The songs here pulsate with perversion, a middle-aged man making damn sure that he's going to get with a tight 23-year-old body yet again; it's the sound of a fetishist turned sexual omnivore.
  8. Uncut
    80
    It’s a wonderful surprise that Further Complications turns out to be such a reinvigorated piece of work. Much of this freshness must be down to the working methods of producer Steve Albini.
  9. Spin
    80
    Neither Cocker's chewy structures nor his voice's subtle shadings are particularly well suited to Albini's you-are-there engineering. Fortunately, this collection of surging and reeling tunes is the former Pulp frontman's strongest since "Different Class."
  10. musicOMH.com
    80
    Minor missteps aside, Further Complications is a bold, progressive step forward in the so far, so very good solo career of Jarvis Cocker.
  11. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    The raucousness of 'Homewrecker!' or the title track will come as a definite surprise to longtime Cocker watchers, though not necessarily a bad one. And the man's droll wordplay is still the dominating factor.
  12. Billboard
    80
    This second solo album is so strong that a listening moves from why to why-not territory rather quickly.
  13. Boston Globe
    80
    Long branded a thinking man's rocker, Cocker seems refreshed to simply bash through an electrifying set of tunes concerned more with appropriate vibe than surgical precision. It's deeper than you think.
  14. PopMatters
    80
    It’s a success. Whether he keeps on in this vein or branches out even further, this album proves you can, in fact, teach an old letch new tricks.
  15. The A.V. Club
    83
    Steve Albini’s production retains some of the lushness Cocker favored on Pulp’s later albums and his solo debut, while investing it with a new punchiness. The approach ups the drama on Cocker’s tales of mid-life desire and failure.
  16. Dot Music
    70
    His solo follow-up, though, is a more personal affair, dissecting the onset of middle-age, physical decrepitude and the end-game of marriage (he split from his wife not long after finishing this).
  17. Under The Radar
    70
    Stripped down to the bone, the tracks here reveal the chinks in Cocker's armor with gloriously broken results. [Summer 2009, p.65]
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  18. No Ripcord
    70
    Initial listens may lead you to believe it’s a little non-descript, but there’s reward in perseverance.
  19. Q Magazine
    80
    It's a flinty rock record that lets Cocker's inner guitar beast out. [Jun 2009, p.118]
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  20. Slant Magazine
    80
    The result is an album thick with a humid sense of decaying sexuality, a desperate voraciousness made even grimier by the gritty production.
  21. Tiny Mix Tapes
    70
    This newest Cocker incarnation restages this conflict in a way that establishes his continuing vitality and creativity and confirms that his sardonic wit has only sharpened with time.
  22. Hot Press
    70
    Brit pop aesthete goes Rawk--sort of.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Ricko
    Dec 26, 2017
    9
    Excellent follow up to his self titled superb debut solo record. "Further Complications" is a far rockier and rawer effort. Its spikier, moreExcellent follow up to his self titled superb debut solo record. "Further Complications" is a far rockier and rawer effort. Its spikier, more emotional, more consistent and generally better than "Jarvis". As a whole album this is as good as anything Pulp ever did although "Further Complications" doesn't have the classic singles that Pulp were capable of knocking out at will. Despite the lack of traditional pop singles, it is full of melodies and Cocker's signature oh so clever lyrical style. "Slush", Leftovers", "I Never Said I Was Deep" and "Caucasian Blues" are the stand out tracks for me but there are so many to pick from. Long Live JC.… Full Review »
  2. MatthewO
    May 27, 2009
    8
    Almost as great as his first solo album.
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