Album Review: Maximo Park

Maximo Park: 'Quicken The Heart' (Warp)

1. Wraithlike
2. The Penultimate Clinch
3. The Kids Are Sick Again
4. A Cloud Of Mystery
5. Calm
6. In Another World (You'd Have Found Yourself By Now)
7. Let's Get Clinical
8. Roller Disco Dreams
9. Tanned
10. Questing, Not Coasting
11. Overland, West Of Suez
12. I Haven't Seen Her In Ages

Three albums into their career, this Geordie quintet have proven once again there is no end to their musical talent.

It's difficult to fault 'Quicken The Heart': On 'Roller Disco Dreams', Paul Smith wonders "if it's a grower, why can't we take things slower" - that's just not an option here.

From the opening riff of 'Wraithlike' through to the final bars of 'I Haven't Seen Her For Ages' we are exposed to a relentless succession of rampant riffs, ballistic basslines and ruthless rhythms; "a list of wraithlike things, that quicken the heart" if you will.

Given the overall quality, it's hard to pick out a highlight - it's all that good. However, if pressed on the subject, 'Calm' has to be my pick of the bunch, mainly due to its clever change of rhythm for the final part, contagious guitars et al.

Maximo quality.

Top track: 'Calm'
Album rating: 8/10




Last 5 NME-E reviews:
The Maccabees: 'Wall Of Arms'
So Shush: Wistful Wanders
Doves: 'Kingdom Of Rust'
The Rakes: 'Klang'
Starsailor: 'All The Plans'


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Weekly Round Up (11 May 2009)

Hello and welcome to the latest round up

Top Stories
At the expense of labouring the point and following recent claims from Joe Satriani and Cat Stevens that 'Viva La Vida' was a rip-off, Coldplay have tried to defend their innocence. Drummer Will Champion has denied that the band have ripped off any other artists in an interview with Hamptonroads.com stating that the band "haven't done anything wrong".

He added: "It's tough when people accuse you of stealing something when you know that you didn't. We accept that it's part of the territory and know it is only for some reason the successful songs that seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen. So you go figure it out."
"There are elements of our music that I've heard in other people's music," he said, "but a very difficult thing to define. There are only eight notes in an octave and no-one owns them. There are probably about 12,000 songs that feature the exact same chord progression. I think it [plagiarism] lies on an intent to steal, which we certainly have never done and never would. "It's unfortunate but it's the way people are. That's that. We're confident we haven't done anything wrong."

Hmmm....


Meanwhile, back in download city, Spotify is apparently lining up a new premium service that will allow users who pay a monthly fee to download and keep as many tracks as they want from the music application. For around 10 quid a month you will be given access to Spotify's entire catalogue under the agreement and be able to download high quality MP3's of every available track on the service.

This scheme could be in place by the summer, for now the company is trying to keep punters happy be adding 120,000 tracks to the library, the biggest update since its launch in October.

Myspace Magic
Top of the pops on myspace this week are Alexis Blue, who have added a new track to their profile ahead of their UK tour. 'Tarred and Feathered' is, in the band's own words, "by far the most Pop song we have written (except for the new one we are currently working on)" and they are not far wrong. Catchy and lyrically solid - 'Radiohead, microwave meals and a single bed' - this band goes from strength to strength. Bass player Chris Stewart told nme-e about current activity: "We hope to record a few new demo songs soon, working with 14th Floor Records (Warner Sub-division, Wombats signed to them) at the moment which may lead on to getting signed so things are coming along pretty well".
And so they should too. I'm looking forward to being able to say 'they went to the same school as me'!

Still in the 'Pool Myspace Magic boys, Fly With Vampires have added a new track to their player. 'Puppet Master' is a real grower with quality arrangements. An extremely promising new track from a band which is just starting out, but shows great promise.



Reviews
This week's big release is Maximo Park's third album, 'Quicken The Heart', which will be fighting The Maccabees' 'Wall Of Arms' for top album of the month and, who knows, the year. Both will be reviewed very soon.


More next week. But don't miss an exclusive interview with Liverpool's The Idles later on in the week. The latest scouse band to feature on Myspace Magic is a real treat.

Cheers

Weekly Round Up (30 Mar 2009)

Welcome to the latest batch of interesting (?) new stories from the music world.

Top Stories
Revolutionaries Manic Street Preachers have stopped the British National Party from using their 1998 Number 1 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next', after the far-right political party used the track as the backing for a video titled 'The Cesspit Called London' on their website and on a YouTube account without seeking permission to do so. The material was removed after SonyBMG, the band's label, issued a cease and desist order.

Ironically, the lyrics to that song concern the International Brigade – the group of volunteers who went to Spain to fight Franco's fascist ranks in the Spanish Civil War. Another example of the BNP's ignorance.

Back in the "cesspit", organisers of a campaign aiming to ensure that a suitable replacement is built for the London Astoria, which was forced to close in the name of urban development in January, held a rally outside the venue last Saturday.

Campaigners were asked to take their iPods with them in order to have a silent disco directly outside the venue, due for imminent demolition.

A campaign petition has now been signed by over 1,000 people, while the campaigners' official Facebook page has over 3,000 members.

Back in the 'Pool, Some of the city's best known musicians have teamed up with Liverpool players to honour the Hillsborough disaster, which "celebrates" its 20th anniversary in April.

Musicians including John Power (The La's, Cast), Peter Hooton (The Farm), Nick Kilroe (Echo And The Bunnymen) and Rob Taylor (The Troubadours) have recorded an updated version of Irish folk song and fans' favourite 'Fields Of Athernry'.

The song, which has been renamed 'Fields Of Anfield Road', also features vocals from the 'Kop Choir', made up of past players including Kenny Dalglish, Phil Thompson, John Aldridge, and Bruce Grobbelaar.

Speaking of the single, Hooton said he wants the track to be seen as a tribute.

"A lot of people have volunteered to get involved," he said. "It is a reworking of a Kop classic and I hope it raises awareness of the Hillsborough disaster and is a fitting tribute to the 96 and the survivors."

Starsailor frontman James Walsh, a big Liverpool fan, also appears on the track.

As a member of the "Blue half", I wish the project the very best. I was unfortunate to be around at the time and hope this serves as a deserved tribute to all those who were affected.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

Myspace Magic
Plenty happening on Myspace this week, in fact too much to summarise here. With no disrespect to the rest, the picks of the week are Loveday Fools, a band who will appear on this page in the next week or so and who have uploaded another new track to their page this week. 'The Year I Started Smoking' confirms their ability to bang out a quality melody. (And thanks for sending me a sneak preview, gents!).

Fellow friends, Alexis Blue, also uploaded some new sounds. Their debut album is available on a free download from their page. I seriously recommend a visit and listen.

Following the latest Myspace Magic interview with midlanders The Scholars, the lads have informed me that their demo album 'Turbulence', mentioned in the article, is available for full streaming on LastFM at the following link:

http://www.last.fm/music/the+scholars/turbulence

You can read the full interview here (shame on you if you haven't already!)

And finally, congratulations to Londoners We Have Band, who have won the Emerging Bands competition organised by the Glastonbury festival. The lucky gits will be on one of the main stages during the festival.

Reviews
No particularly important releases this week. Still pending is a write-up of 'Klang' by The Rakes, and a summary of this months top albums will appear soon.

Festival Fever
In the light of Los Planetas' cancellation ahead of this year's SOS 4.8 festival, the organisers have been quick to confirm Maximo Park as replacement and have also rescheduled the programme a little. Spiritualized have now moved from the Friday (May 1) to the Saturday, while the aforementioned Maximo Park will play the main stage on the opening night. You can check out the complete listings here.


Up the road, Benicassim's classic FIB festival announced more confirmed acts to accompany headline acts Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, Kings Of Leon and The Killers. The latest additions are Lily Allen (oh well!), Glasvegas and Mystery Jets. Other confirmed acts included TV On The Radio, Fight Like Apes and Late Of The Pier. Again, more information is available on the official webpage.

More next week.


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Weekly Round Up (23 Mar 2009)

Hi and welcome to another week of musical wonder.

Top Stories

With U2 keeping their gobs shut this week, I've had to look elsewhere for some newsworthy items, but there's always something to write home about. George Harrison's son, Dhani, says The Beatles estate is considering bypassing iTunes and setting up a standalone download site offering the band's music. Not content with the 'Rock Band' deal set to hit the market in September or Steve Job's paultry 99 cents a download, Dhani is clearly intent on making the most of his father's talent - has he not got any of his own, we ask ourselves?

"We're losing money every day," Harrison told Blender.

"So what do you do? You have to have your own delivery system, or you have to do a good deal with Steve Jobs. But he says that a download is worth 99 cents, and we disagree."

Maybe Dhani should start doing covers of his father's work. Read on....

Will Page, Chief Economist at music royalties agency PRS, says revenue from ticket sales, performance royalties and VAT has now overtaken that from recorded music. He calculated that across all facets, the live industry was worth £904m in 2008. This overtakes recorded industry's trade value of £896m, as published in the BPI's January newsletter with the gap expected to widen in the future.

At the same conference, promoter Stuart Galbraith of Killimanjiro Live pointed out that Michael Jackson has sold 800,000 concert tickets, all major festivals have sold out and Take That are looking at seven-figure ticket sales on their current campaign.

To me, this seems a logical development in today's download society.

One band who definitely won't be adding to this trend, are The Stone Roses. Amid tabloid rumours the band were going to reunite and play a 21 gig tour this summer, Ian Brown's publicist denied any truth in the matter, telling the Daily Mail that he is instead concentrating on his next solo album at the moment.

"We know nothing about a reunion," the publicist said. "Ian is working on his new studio album which is due out later this year."

John Squire also said they same later on in the week, so best not get too excited by that whole idea.


Myspace Magic
Pittsburgh's finest, Meeting Of Important People are counting the days to the release of their self-titled debut album. They'll be one of the featured bands on nme-europe this week.

Elsewhere, there are plenty of bands uploading new tracks this week. In no particular order of preference, then:

Liverpool quartet Sky Lounge offer '7Teen', a hard-hitting track which, as they self-proclaim "...mostly draws upon catchy pop chorus and prominent dance rhythms."

Fellow Scousers, Buzz Radio, win the week's prolific prize with no less than FOUR new tracks appearing on their page. 'So Sad About Us', 'Judgement Day', 'Don't Make A Fool Out Of Me' and 'One Too Many' are easy on the ear for all pop/rockers.

Just up the M62, Mutineers most recent track, 'Hyde Road' is a real grower and well worth a listen.

Last, but not least, Loveday Fools, who hail from Scarborough also have new tracks on their page, with a demo version of 'In The Backyard' the latest to arrive. If you like well thought out melodies, you're gonna like these gents - my particular favourite is 'The Morning', although I won't tell you who I think they sound like...

Check 'em all out. It won't do you any harm!

Finally, not content with a bandbacker battle, Page 44 are also set on the Road To V. Couldn't resist giving them my vote. You should do too.

Reviews

With reviews of Starsailor and The Rakes on the horizon, this week's pick of the new stuff must surely be The Decemberists' fifth album, 'Hazards Of Love'. Following the commercial success of 'The Crane Wife' it'll be interesting to see which direction they take now.

Festival Fever
Without going into too much detail on the UK festivals, the main announcement Spain-wide this week comes from the SOS 4.8 festival. Spanish indie legends (and I don't use that term lightly), Los Planetas, won't be able to make it in the end as they're concentrating on recording their new album. However, the organisers have, so-to-speak, pulled a rabbit out of the hat by confirming Newcastle boys Maximo Park as a replacement. While Los Planetas is an unfortunate loss, Maximo Park is certainly an exciting prospect and increases the quality of the line-up. There's still a bit of uncertainty as to when they'll appear with one local paper indicating it's a straight swap while another stated they'll be on the main stage on the Friday (which balances things up a little).


That's about it then. Have a good week.


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Weekly Round Up (09 Mar 2009)

Hello everybody. Here is the news.....

Top Stories
This week must be "International Promote Your New Release Week" or something similar, as every second news bit seems to be dedicated to a new album. Here's an example of just a few of them; Maximo Park will offer a free download of their new track 'Wrathlike' from the forthcoming album 'Quicken The Heart' on their webpage; Kasabian have named their third album 'West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum', which will be out in June; in the middle of the Blur reunion, Graham Coxon has announced the release of his new experimental album 'The Spinning Top', due out on May 15; Super Furry Animals will broadcast a live version of their new album 'Dark Nights/Light Years' their myspace page on Mar 16 coinciding with its digital release). Better start saving my cents!

The rest of the news appears to belong to veteran Irish rockers U2. On the back of claiming the tenth chart topping album of their career with 'No Line On The Horizon', the band have announced the first details of their forthcoming world stadium tour. The tour will kick off on June 30 at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, then continuing through Europe – including four UK dates and a Dublin show – before heading to north America.

Audiences will suuround the group on a specially designed stage and will also be able to enjoy support bands such as Glasvegas, Elbow, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and Black eyed Peas.


As if that wasn't enough, they have also had a street in New York City named in their honour to celebrate the release of their brand new album. 53rd Street is now U2 Way. Shame the album is only average (more of that later).

Still in the States, Morrissey has had an eventful start to the US leg of his world tour. After cancelling the first few dates due to illness, he was reportedly interrogated by US immigration officials in Atlanta. You can read all about it on his myspace page blog, but he appears to be ready to take on the world if, in his words, "the world can take it".

Myspace Magic
Myspace has been unreal this week and I'm having serious trouble keeping up to date with things. Friend requests galore and stacks of really cool music mean the list of pending interviews is getting longer and longer. Its A Buffalo are the latest band to be featured, coinciding with the release of their debut album 'Don't Be Scared', which is currently on the iphone awaiting a formal review. I'll get the rest done as soon as I can, so please be patient.

Elsewhere, Liverpool's The Rackets have announced free downloads of their tracks on their myspace page. Don't be a fool and take them up on the offer, 'The Usual Suspects' is my personal recommendation.

Reviews
I foolishly got my hands on the new U2 release last week and will explain my foolishness in due course. Fortunately, I also got Its A Buffalo's 'Don't Be Scared', a review of which will appear shortly. I can see I'm going to be void of time to review everything I'd like to, so I might have to re-organise things a little. Let's see what I come up with - so much to listen to and only one pair of ears!


Festival Fever
Manic here too, with most of the big festivals finalising line ups. The V festival announced headline slots for Oasis and The Killers. Tickets went on sale on March 6, the Chemlsford show sold out in two hoursand their ar eonly a handful of ticket left for Staffordshire! Myspace Magic bands The Little Hydes and Metropolitans are taking part in the Road To V competition, so please click on the following link to see how you can help them. You can also find link to the official website on the sidebar and keep abreast of developments of this and other top festivals there.

And finally.....
Couldn't sign off without a special mention to local Murcian boys Second who offered a fabulous gig last Saturday night. The quality was outstanding in all aspects and confirms them as one of the top bands in Spain right now. Check out the youtube video below, where Jose Angel and co. invite fans on to the stage to take part in the final track - what a shame I was so far back! Enjoy.



Take it easy.

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