Jarvis Cocker

After the demise of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker seemed a little lost. His debut solo album eventually surfaced in 2006 but despite some of his patented witticisms, in hindsight the self-titled affair was a bit patchy. Enter an unexpected trip into the studio with super-engineer Steve Albini, a mid-life crisis as some inspiration and the desire to rock and Jarvis has transformed into a new man (see the beard for even more proof). Credit his band for helping him realize his rock'n'roll potential, for Jarvis has found the unbridled side of him that scowls like John Lydon through "Caucasian Blues," gets seedy in the grungy "Fuckingsong" and pogos to sax on "Homewrecker!" But Jarvis knows he doesn't have the drive for an entire album of this stuff. He flexes some soul on "Hold Still," gets soft on "Leftovers," drops his signature flirtatious prose ("I met her in the Museum of Palaeontology and I make no bones about it") and closes things out with the Pulp-ish twilight disco of "You're In My Eyes." At 45, Jarvis has rejected his descent into the golden years and as a result, pulled out his best album in over a decade.