British long-serving indies MAXÏMO PARK fronted by flamboyant voice/songwriter/jumper Paul Smith have a lot of miles under their belt. They’re approaching year 25 and released 7 LPs, so far, with 2021’s stellar Nature Always Win as their most recent one.
They just announced that they take the road
in Europe/UK this Autumn. Dates below.
To warm up, came along with the news,
brand-new single, titled FAVOURITE SONGS.
Smith: “Our aim was to create a peppy yet powerful ode to the consolation
of music and companionship in the face of other people’s preconceptions.”
Favourite Songs is vintage MP electricity. Zippy, mettlesome and limbs-activating.
One of those very welcome wide-awake tunes in these restless times. Infectiously blithesome, with Smith‘s dynamic vocals in the middle. Touchdown.
PAUL SMITH (frontman): “I’ve always wanted to reflect the time that each record is made in, and not hark back to anything. Whilst it paints a bit of a sorry picture of Britain in terms of more obvious things in the lyrics like ‘the libraries are closing down‘ and ‘the island’s revolted‘, there is this yearning for a simpler time. Those places are still out there, you’re able to access them and you don’t necessarily need to be nostalgic. There’s enough hope all around us.”
NME says: “The Geordie misfits return with joyful pop songs and introspective anthems
aplenty on their seventh studio album… A sizzling return to form… An album packed with
joyful pop songs and introspective anthems.” Full review here. Score: 4/5.
Turn Up The Volume says: Without a shadow of a doubt their best creation ever
to my ears. They move and groove and improve from start to finish, they impress
for 44 minutes. Number 2 in the UK Album Chart! Bingo!
The topnotch singles: Child Of The Flatlands / I Don’t Know What I’m Doing / Baby, Sleep
Album: NATURE ALWAYS WIN – their 7th album Release: 26th February 2021 – Pre-order facilities here.
Frontman PAUL SMITH: “I’ve always wanted to reflect the time that each record is made in, and not hark back to anything. Whilst it paints a bit of a sorry picture of Britain in terms of more obvious things in the lyrics like ‘the libraries are closing down‘ and ‘the island’s revolted‘, there is this yearning for a simpler time. Those places are still out there, you’re able to access them and you don’t necessarily need to be nostalgic. There’s enough hope all around us.”
The topnotch singles: Child Of The Flatlands / I Don’t Know What I’m Doing / Baby, Sleep
I love the smell of rock ‘n’ roll all month long! Turn Up The Volume‘s 15 Knockout Tracks
November 2020! Right here, right now…
‘State Of The Union’ by PUBLIC ENEMY (US) Whatever it takes, rid this dictator / POTUS my tail, Ass debater / Prime-time Preemo, rhyme-time crime / Like no other in this lifetime / Stay away from me / State of the Union, shut the
fuck up / Sorry ass motherfucker / Stay away from me / State of the Union / Shut the fuck up
‘There’s A Ghost’ by SUPERCHUNK (North-Carolina)
This steamed-up missile proves that Superchunk still has the adrenalin-fueled buzz and fuzz energy to make you go nuts like a manic kangaroo. A welcome wham bloody bam smack to ventilate your lockdown frustration. Pogo along here…
‘I Don’t Know What I’m Doing’ by MAXÏMO PARK(Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
Instant rollicking-guitar-crazy stormer. An agitated and keyed-up cracker on the
run with an adrenaline-fueled chorus triggering your jump up-and-down button.
From the upcoming album Nature Always Wins, out 26 February 2021…
‘The Eyeball Dance’ by HEY COLOSSUS (UK)
From the get-go, this ongoing repetitive-riff-ripper infiltrates your mind without asking permission. And the sickly sticky chorus causes head-twisting dynamics making you totally dizzy. Mind-bending psych jam for greedy ears! Get up and turn it up…
. ‘The Observer’ by FLYING MOON IN SPACE (Germany)
Only thirty seconds in and this electrical Kraut-synth stunner is already jumping from left to right and back in your uncontrollably spinning head. Ongoing sparkling rotations cause a transcendent experience giving you the opportunity to escape our grim reality for a while…
Cutting Sonic Youth echoes, flashing Metz dynamics, and layers of Dinosaur Jr. guitars.
A sizzling bolide about loving each other while rocking your balls off. From the band’s excellent debut LP Future Anachronisms. Start the fire…
. ‘Out Of The Shadows’ by GREAT HARE (Sweden)
This is the wake-up-call I want to hear when I can’t get out of my bed in the morning. You simply can’t resist this shot of adrenaline. This is what elevating pop is all about. Vitalizing, energizing, and galvanizing. In a normal world, this should be a global hit…
. ‘Breaking Out’ by GHOSTLAWNS
Middle finger to the lockdown, there’s no law against freaking out in your living room and it helps to activate your adrenaline production. And kraut-dance impulses are so much cheaper and more effective than therapy. Hit the floor…
. ‘For Daze’ by FAUX MACHISMO (Leeds)
Passion, desperation, devotion, distress, and heartache. An anxiety-driven outburst making your hair in the back of your neck stand up. A haunting groovy guitar riff-mad stroke with emotive vocals dragging you to the dark side of your soul and the exploding full-grunge chorus messes up your mind. Smells like heart-shaped box melodrama to me…
. ‘Where You Find Me’ by THE NOTWIST (Germany)
The German indie rockers are gearing up for a new album called Vertigo Days, out
29 January 2021. Lead-single Where You Find Me is a frolic pop tune you’ll whistle, hum and/or sing along pretty quick in your shower. As sticky as first-class glue…
‘Edge Of The World’ by THE SEA AT MIDNIGHT (Los Angeles)
One-man band The Sea At Midnight balances between twilight and sunrise, between
past and present, between pain and hope. This both melodious and darkwave blues introspection has a healing effect. Gripping piece from his new self-titled album…
. ’20th Century Boy’ by BEAUTY IN CHAOSfeat. AL JOURGENSEN
20th Century metal boy Al Jourgensen from industrial noiseniks Ministry obviously
has fun with this hot-tempered and filthy cover of the 1973 T.Rex blockbuster…
Well, It’s plain to see you were meant for me / Yeah, I’m your toy, your 20th Century boy.
‘King Of Machines’ byTIGER MIMIC (London)
Tiger Mimic rants about the dangerous state of chaos we live in with a crystal clear, outspoken jackhammer fueled by sinewy guitar hooks, a battering beat, sharp-cutting male/female vocals, and a caustic chorus. Midway the tempo drops and the intensity goes up before starting the pugnacious ‘I’ll Stand My Ground’ finale. Time to act! Time to survive!
. ‘No Justification’ by LOUD APARTMENT (New York)
Uplifting music is what we need to inject our concerned minds with hope and faith in
a better future while battling for survival. This hip-shaking, funky, hip-hop party tune
will do the trick perfectly. From the new albumSystem Breakdown…
. ‘Compersion Pt. 1’ by ARAB STRAP
Back after 15 years. A track that “depicts a quest to find the ever-elusive unicorn, to bond fluidly, and safely, with the like-minded and adventurous, in the comforting arms of an anonymous hotel, and the stark realization that you never really wanted it.” A near-spoken story over an ongoing addictive riff. Magnetic cut…
All together on Spotify…
. See/hear you next month for the best-of-2020-tracks…
Newcastle upon Tyne rockers MAXÏMO PARK score again new
steaming stunner from their upcoming, seventh album titled NATURE ALWAYS WIN (let’s really hope so), out next February.
You can pre-order here.
“Last time we wanted to make more political music, but we also didn’t want
to rely on the cliches of it being a punk record. We wanted to do something
you could dance to but also think about what you’re dancing to, which is
more of a post-punk or punk-funk sort of ideal…
With this one, I’ve become a parent over the past four years and the other guys
in the band have got kids as well and I didn’t want to ignore it but I also didn’t
want it to be the central aspect of the record because I want the record to be
open to all” says spearhead Paul Smith about the new record.
After the previously shared splendid, reflective pieces Baby, Sleep
and Child Of The Flatlands (listen/watch below) ringleader Smith
climbs, higher and higher, upon the ladder with steaming stunner I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING.
The song is “about taking responsibility for how your own behaviour can affect
other people, and how nobody knows it all, but that doesn’t stop us from trying.
More personally, it’s about the fears and self-doubt I’ve experienced as a new parent.”
I Don’t Know What I’m Doing is an instant rollicking-guitar-crazy stormer. An agitated
and keyed-up ripsnorter on the run with an adrenaline-fueled chorus triggering your jump up-and-down button. One of the most intense rockers I heard all year. Bang-on big time! The proud fathers did it, again!
