"Our Earthly pleasures" is the Sunderland based Maximo Parks second full length LP, the follow up to "A certain trigger", a storming debut which put the band firmly in the publics mind.
Club favourites "Grafitti" and "Apply some pressure", songs with catchy vocal lines and indie guitars quickly saw the band grow a massive fan base and find fame in both Europe and further abroad, although they have yet to break into America.
One of the things I, and many others, love about Maximo Park are vocalist Paul Smiths use of accent in his vocals. The lead singer fully utilises his North Eastern roots in his vocals, bringing the band a unique and beautifully british sound to their music.
A lot rested on the bands follow up, "our earthly pleasures", as to whether to the band were 1 album wonders or whether they could truely cement their place in the hearts and minds on the record buying public. I'm extatic to report, the band have not let down, and actually managed to supercede a great first album with a follow up to be cherished.
The first single from the album, "Our Velocity", is a keyboard and riff-tastic guitar driven song that races along at the speed of light. An ultimate tune for the indie dance floors, this is one of those songs that is so good, it's going to be on the "best of the 00's" CDs when we're all 50. Having said that, CDs won't exist then, but that's a whole different ball game. It is by far the most instantly catchy song on the album, in the same way "Grafitti" was to "A Certain Trigger".
The song also signalled what the band referred to as a much "heavier" album than the first. Now, I don't think it's possible to qualify Maximo as "heavy", but it's all relative; The album is a more driving and poppy than the first, with a much heavier reliance on crunching guitar chords, as well as considerably greater influence from pianist Lucas Wooler. This is most ceratainly exemplified on one of the best tracks on the album, "Russian Literature". Piano builds up in an epic way along with brilliant vocals, leading to a song with so much dynamic, pace and punch that you want to be able to make every person you've ever met listen to it. "Are you hopeful or just gullable" is belted out with a beutiful harmonised last note in the build up that it gives you shivers down the spine on first listen.
The build up and quite down formula is used quite regularly on this album, for example in "Your Urge", which features brilliant lyrics about one night stands and giving a great social commentary, in a much more subtle way than anything the Arctic Monkeys have ever done. However, it is not overdone, and at no point does the album sound "samey".
Every song on this album has a personality. And each song is good, there are no fillers, but bear in mind some songs take a while to get into. "Karaoke plays" starts off sounding as a very mediocre quiet indie song, and as the 5th track starts to bring a come down on the album. That's for 30 seconds, until the Chorus kicks in, and what a chorus. "Someone gets run down, Kareoke plays somewhere in the background, but there is no explanation" Is sung powerfully to a background of amazingly full sounding guitars, which are loud and abrassive, whilst maintaining the shere beauty of this song. From that point on, the song is seen in a new light, and is simply fantastic.
IT is hard to fault the majority of this album. It really is. It flows perfectly, from the massively pacey song "The Unshockable" with it's into power-drums, to the off-beat and well crafted "A fortnights time", which sees the band experimenting with time changes, and going from high paced guitar to beautiful piano in an instance that blend so well, it shows why the band are as popular as they are.
When this album is heavy, it rocks out with the catchiest of guitar. At all other times, this album is beautiful. This band have one of the best lyricists in any band. And he's one of the best vocalists to boot. Listen to books from boxes as an example.
The album ends with 2 very different songs. "Sandblasted and set free" Initially sounds like this albums attempt at expiremental "the acrobat" from the first album, with the spoken vocals. However, it quickly turns into an emphatic, if not slightly more subdued, track. The song is the closest thing to a ballad on the album, and although the song is the closest thing to a "let down" on the album, it has a chorus that oozes charm and is sure to be a sing-a-long at gigs. Closing track "Parisian Skies" is a nice closing track. But unfortunately it's not more. A slightly darker chorus than the verse leaves the song losing any pull on the listener. Probably the song most reminisent of the previous album, it is the weakest song on the album by a while, but still worth a listen.
This album has been beautifully produced, the band have written beautiful songs. A faultless album that is a must own. These songs are indie-pop at their best, and by pop I don't mean it in the busted sense. Each song has had heart and soul poured into it, with perfectly supporting and flowing bass, lyrics and vocals that will have your ear glued to the speaker wanting to take it in, and piano that makes a much greater impression than in "A Certain Trigger", and this album benefits all the more for it.
8.5/10
Download: Russian Literature, Books from Boxes.
Don't download: N/A
Your urge : Maximo Park (MP3)
www.myspace.com/maximopark
www.maximopark.com
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