Review: Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures (or) hold my head up while I'm falling down

Posted on 31 May 2007 | 2 Comments

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Indie Rock, Just Plain Rock, New Wave

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I think it was sometime last year when I said that Maximo Park is “yet another British group that plays that popular-with-the-kids melodic post-punk but this band is one of the best of the lot,” and I still stick to my guns on that verdict. Better than Franz, Futureheads, or Kaiser Chiefs.

Maximo Park’s latest album Our Earthly Pleasures is a little more cleanly produced than the band’s first record, but is still full of great new-wave meets post-punk tunes. The angular guitars and choppy synths are still intact. Singer Paul Smith’s sneering vocals and thick Geordie accent seem more sincere than many of his peers’ and just add a little unobscured realism to the music.

Maximo Park (unlike say Bloc Party) haven’t eschewed the hook-laded guitar rock that made them a household (???) name, but (overall) the album is a bit more mid-tempo than A Certain Trigger. Even so, the band performs no less fiercely than before. Oddly enough (though) it almost sounds as if the Maximo Park isn’t always trying that hard and like things come spectacularly easy to these lads from Newcastle Upon Tyne. The scary thing is that the band (IMHO) hasn’t hit their stride yet.

Our Earthly Pleasures is out now on Warp Records. Listen to “Our Velocity” and wait for the change at 1:51 mark and (unless you are wearing a neck brace) you’ll find it impossible to not nod your head. Good luck resisting.

MP3 | Maximo Park – Our Velocity Our Earthy Pleasures
MP3 | Maximo Park – Books From Boxes Our Earthly Pleasures

Comments

1 Bill V - 500 days ago I'll second that Maximo Park is the best of that bunch, though I do love the Futureheads especially live. The MP show is the night after Pitchfork concludes I believe, which will make it difficult to make.

2 Matthew - 488 days ago I can't stop myself thinking of Maximo Park as a 'guilty' pleasure. Maybe after two good albums I'll drop the 'guilty' part and just admit to liking them.

And I disagree with you about the Futureheads. Their second album lost a lot of the punch of the first, but there were some great tunes on it. Burnt was a favourite of mine, as was Worry About it Later.