Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures (Album)
» Maximo Park Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane sold out - July 17, 2007
» Maximo Park - Corner Hotel, The, Vic - September 30, 2005
» Maximo Park - Corner Hotel, The, Vic - September 30, 2005
In 2005, four Newcastle lads calling themselves Maximo Park released A Certain Trigger, which won rave reviews, topped the charts and earned them numerous award nominations along the way. Yet at the same time, the band was lacking an identity, having emerged and swum in the same music waters as Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs.
Fast-forward two years, and the circumstances are eerily similar. Maximo Park releases their follow up album, Our Earthly Pleasures, weeks after the follow-ups from Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs. However, while showing glimpses of individuality through some clever songwriting and worldly themes to provide a refreshing start to Our Earthly Pleasures, the album fades and ends up feeling like an opportunity lost.
So, the good news first. The first radio single, “Our Velocity”, is an infectious gem that will capture the minds and hearts of listeners. Bristling with youthful enthusiasm and a laissez-faire attitude, the rushed lyrical delivery infused with 80s synth beautifully captures the pacy and confusing world in which gen Y is growing up and questioning. Similarly catching is the sharp guitar and hook-laden chorus of album opener “Girls Who Play Guitars”. This track is guaranteed to provide instant gratification in the vein of the fast food music environment in which Maximo Park originally emerged. This is not to say that “Girls Who Play Guitars” is in any way disposable, because Paul Smith is an intriguing vocalist and a modern poet and such qualities gold plate these pop tunes. “A Fortnight’s Time” and “By the Monument”, while not as polished as the deadly twin barrel opener, are nonetheless musically fun affairs.
However, “This is us moving on and moving up,” explains Smith. “We’re very proud of our first album, but we didn’t want to do that again.” So with the remainder of Our Earthly Pleasures, Maximo Park attempts to prove that they really are a serious band.
When it comes off, it is spectacular. There is a beautiful kind of melancholy, delivered with vivid emotion on “Books from Boxes” which on the surface seems like just a simple story about a broken relationship. However, it is subtly delivered and Smith’s astute lyrical reflection winds like the contours of a striking night time ocean drive. Then there is the dramatic piano and anarchic feel to “Russian Literature”. An anthem for growing discontentment at the destructive state of world affairs, this is a damning commentary on our modern civilisation and announces the coming of age for Maximo Park as a thought-provoking group.
When it doesn’t come off (and it hurts me to say that it doesn’t a little too often) it is so, so disappointing. “Karaoke Plays” displays none of Smith’s linguist tendencies and is completely void of the band’s usually intelligent arrangements. “Your Urge” has been rightly described as sounding like it was written by the poor man’s Nickelback. “Parisian Skies” lacks the sharp edged rawness of more memorable Maximo Park tracks. “Nosebleed”, “Sandblasted and Set Free” and “The Unshockable” are largely forgettable.
This is a real shame. Maximo Park is much better than this offering. After opening so strong, Our Earthly Pleasures could have been one of the releases of 2007. Instead, it marks phase two of Maximo Park’s career: treading water.
