Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time (Rough Trade)
UK release date: 8 January 2007
The erstwhile Pulp singer's very first solo single was a download-only affair which received absolutely no radio play whatsoever - purely due to the contention of the chorus that "cunts are still running the world". For those of us who were lucky enough to hear it, it was proof positive that the years of cosy domesticity in Paris had failed to rob Jarvis Cocker of his edge and relevance.
Cocker's first 'official' solo single is a very different affair which thankfully should reach a much wider audience this time. Originally written for Nancy Sinatra (and to be found on her self-titled album from a couple of years back), it's a marvellous slice of 60s-ish pop featuring Cocker's advice to a female friend to dump her no-good boyfriend. It's full of typically sardonic Cocker lines ("then some skinny bitch walks by in some hot pants, and he's a-running out the door" for example), and a mighty chorus that's belted out with some style by the man himself.
It's also got Richard Hawley's hand all over it, which is no bad thing, and hopefully this can emulate the critical success that Hawley had with Coles Corner last year. We thought we'd lost him for a while, but one of the country's finest songwriters is back with a vengeance.