MAXIMO PARK: 'Quicken the Heart' (Warp)
Concerned by the growing number of indie bands embracing dance music? Frightened by the inexplicable popularity of such style swerves, and the way in which your favourite groups seem to be jumping on the bandwagon with the greatest of glee? Does it keep you awake at night, sweating in your Subpop PJs? Have you put a parental lock on the once-reliable MTV2, lest you stumble across an offending track? Are you petrified about the future of alternative music? Well fear not dear reader, for here's one band you can always rely on. While their dependence on the wiry synths provided by mind-bogglingly hyperactive keyboardist Lukas Wooler may be steadily increasing, Maximo Park will never lose the indie-pop heart of the music: in the space of three albums, they have managed to remain relatively steadfast, producing energetic, hook-laden numbers without a trace of techno, grime or, heaven help us all, crunk. With 'Quicken the Heart', we have more of the same - Maximo know what you want and by God, they know how to give it to you.
As usual, their intrinsic command of melody produces some truly impressive tracks. 'The Kids Are Sick Again' is a blistering effort, promising a chorus but never quite delivering until the final minute or so, by which point the listener is far more susceptible to its charms. The song cleverly avoids becoming repetitive or predictable which, in turn, only makes its hooks more memorable. There are obvious singles everywhere on this record: 'Calm' is an effortless singalong, designed to claw at your skull, 'A Cloud of Mystery' has sass and sway, washing over you in a sea of dirty guitars and 'Wraithlike' is positively menacing, an invective two and a half minute flurry of jagged riffs and unusual rhythm changes. There is a slightly darker, more sombre, feel to the album, however, but Maximo quite rightly entrench it in the sort of raw energy that made debut 'A Certain Trigger' such an exciting listen (and its absence in 'Our Earthly Pleasures' such a distinct disappointment.) Paul Smith's penchant for storytelling remains, lending considerable verisimilitude, but in tracks like 'The Penultimate Clinch', with its cold Joy Division bass and drums, it's a hell of a lot darker.
Regrettably, 'Quicken the Heart' loses a great deal of this energy and versatility as it slouches its way into the final half. The meandering groove of 'Let's Get Clinical' is truly ill-advised, swamping the song in lethargy, refusing to let the melody seep through. 'Roller Disco Dreams' and 'Tanned' seem to bleed into one another, neither offering the listener anything to get excited about. Despite its promising title, 'Questing, Not Coasting' continues the trend, slumping into the sort of polished 'maturity' that haunted 'Pleasures', rejecting the band's natural inclination to crank the volume and sounding worryingly like late 90s indie nobodies Monaco. This weariness really damages the record, limiting its impact and exposing some of its limitations: at times, the refrains feel too familiar; while they are initially appealing, it doesn't take long before they begin to prove tiresome. 'In Another World' is probably the worst offender: listen to that chorus and tell me that it isn't just 'Girls Who Play Guitars' in a different key.
Predictably, Maximo Park's third effort is a perfectly comfortable record, the sound of a band settling into their well-honed sound. Often, this proves rather refreshing, especially when one considers the deluge of artists currently taking U-turns in an attempt to satisfy the ever-changing zeitgeist. The Park certainly have the ability to harness their considerable talents and ear for melody in order to create some damn fine singalongs, and there are plenty here. Unfortunately, their biggest strength is also their most infuriating weakness, as their familiarity quickly turns to predictability and the songs lose their power. There is little different here, and what is is ill-advised or sluggish, leaving the album sounding tired and dull in its latter stages. While I'm certainly not advocating a dalliance with grime, perhaps Maximo Park could do with an injection of fresh blood and a dose of fresh energy. 'Quicken the Heart' generally does what it's supposed to but sadly, in this day and age, that often isn't enough. (6/10)
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