Separations

Pulp's third album, SEPARATIONS, was recorded in 1989 but not released until three years later. The record opens with a series of wails and a look forward to a future that "is shining like a giant metal beast, it shines so brightly, with its legs open wide". "Love is Blind" also features one of the first of lyricist Jarvis Cocker's spoken word asides, many of which seem to be highly personal tales of debauchery and degradation. The title track opens with a minute-long violin solo but launches into a string section before settling into a saga of loneliness driven by keyboards and rhythm. "Countdown", set to a near-disco beat, traces the social decline of the narrator.
"My Legendary Girlfriend", the first truly great Pulp single, is a mostly spoken-word, nearly seven-minute-long song featuring a "Shaft"-like guitar sound under Cocker's sweaty, sexually charged mumblings. The electro-fueled "This House is Condemned" wraps up the album with eight minutes of warped guitar, disjointed keyboards, and lyrics that address the mental breakdown of a man whose life is collapsing around him.|