I don't think anyone expected to get a new album from Pulp in 2025, let alone a Tiny Desk. But the much-beloved group, fronted by the singular voice of Jarvis Cocker, returned this spring with More, its first full-length in nearly a quarter century. A couple of months later, the group celebrated with a visit to our D.C. offices for a career-spanning set.
Just before making the short walk from our makeshift green room (a converted office) to the Tiny Desk down the hall, the band members held hands and sang, "This will be the very best Tiny Desk." It's the kind of deadpan humor long found in the band's music, but also in their performance, as Cocker crooned, cooed and danced his way through four tracks.
The oldest they played, "Acrylic Afternoons," dates back to the 1994 album His 'n' Hers. But they also performed the jangly "Something Changed," from 1995's Different Class, along with one of Pulp's career-defining and fan-favorite songs, "This Is Hardcore," originally released in 1998. They rounded out the set with the bittersweet "A Sunset" from More.
SET LIST
- "This Is Hardcore"
- "Something Changed"
- "A Sunset"
- "Acrylic Afternoons"
MUSICIANS
- Jarvis Cocker: vocals, guitar
- Candida Doyle: keys
- Mark Webber: guitar, piano
- Nick Banks: cajón
- Emma Smith: violin, background vocals
- Richard Jones: viola, background vocals
- Andrew McKinney: bass
- Adam Betts: percussion, background vocals
- Jason Buckle: guitar
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Maansi Srivastava
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
Copyright 2025 NPR
