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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Girls Who Play Guitars |
| 2. Our Velocity |
| 3. Books From Boxes |
| 4. Russian Literature |
| 5. Karaoke Plays |
| 6. Your Urge |
| 7. Unshockable |
| 8. By The Monument |
| 9. Nosebleed |
| 10. Fortnight's Time |
| 11. Sandblasted And Set Free |
| 12. Parisian Skies |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The second album from Newcastle's Maximo Park, Our Earthly Pleasures confirms its creators to be one of the UK's more idiosyncratic indie outfits – the sort of bookish, educated rockers for whom intelligence means something more than reading a book while you're having your photo taken. Not only does vocalist Paul Smith boast the sort of wit and wisdom to rhyme the words "hypothetical", "alphabetical", "theoretical" and "dialectical" (see 'A Fortnight's Time') without coming off as a pretentious try-hard, the songs Maximo pen zip along with a gleaming tunefulness and athletic agility that denies any obvious musical influence. Much here is concerned with collapsing relationships, although Smith takes a more circuitous route than most though the familiar territory of a love song: 'Our Velocity' treats male-female communication as a cipher to be cracked, while the chiming 'Books From Boxes' takes stock of a love affair of a relationship from its accumulated paper trail. Far from being introspective and self-absorbed, however, Our Earthly Pleasures is an energetic, vibrant affair, thanks in part to the work of Pixies producer Gil Norton, who thickens up Lukas Wooler's synth and hones the band dynamic to quiet/loud perfection. --Louis Pattison
Review
An essential part of any band's rites of passage - it's Geordie post-punkers Maximo Park's turn to try their hand at that notoriously problematic second album.
Still, two years of constant touring since their debut appears to have paid off: Our Earthly Pleasures arrives positively brimming with potential hits. Lead single ''Our Velocity'', is a punchy statement of intent, full of 80s choc-a-block synths and driving harmonies.
Opener, ''Girls Who Play Guitars'' is equally attention grabbing. With a chorus that kicks in a mere ten seconds into the vocal line, it's the kind of instant gratification demanded of a band with one critically acclaimed debut under their belt and one eye on a busy festival season.
It's certainly an album that evokes visions of delirious summertime hedonism: its momentum designed for haphazard jumping about in crowds, one sweaty fist in the air whilst the other grapples with a plastic cup of warm lager. Bring it on.
Amongst all the staccato guitars and the steady onslaught of singer Paul Smith's lyrics though, the album perhaps lacks the obvious stand-out tracks of its predecessor.
The relentless energy never lets up, but midway through this record there is a noticeable lull in potency. The aptly named 'The Unshockable' is in danger of becoming just that, serving up what begins to sound like just another indistinct jerk-rock anthem.
The album rallies towards the end, with the anthemic ''Sandblasted'' and ''Set Free'' and the liltingly gentle introduction to ''Parisian Nights''.
Fans will find plenty to love about Our Earthly Pleasures, which helps cement Maximo Park's reputation for producing rough-edged, power-driven pop of the highest calibre. But this is a record dogged by inconsistency, which you can't help feeling would have benefited immeasurably from a greater degree of light and shade. A missed opportunity. --Melanie Jane Spence
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is simply the most listen-to-able album this year. I can happily listen to it on repeat over and over... I haven't been able to do that with an album for some time!
If you liked their previous album, A Certain Trigger, you will adore this. Lots of catchy, yet not nauseous, tunes and some truly beautiful lyrical work...
A must-buy of 2007, the soundtrack of your summer.
If you liked their previous album, A Certain Trigger, you will adore this. Lots of catchy, yet not nauseous, tunes and some truly beautiful lyrical work...
A must-buy of 2007, the soundtrack of your summer.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Buying an album on the strength of having liked just one single from it (Books From Boxes) is always a risk. It doesn't always pay off, but Our Earthly Pleasures is even better and more consistent than the quality of that single suggested. Having not heard the band's first album, I came to this one with no preconceptions or prejudices about what I was going to hear. The first two tracks, Girls Who Play Guitars and Our Velocity are full-on pop-rock, entertaining and energetic. They are followed by Books From Boxes, which is a gem of a track - but in many ways it is what happens from here on that makes this such a great album. Each successive track has either a great melodic hook, fantastic rhythmic interplay between the instruments or genuinely affecting lyrics, and often all three in combination. Standout tracks are hard to identify as the standard is so high, but By The Monument and Parisian Skies are good places to start. Overall, though, this is one of those rare records that you can just put on and play all the way through without a single duff track, where nothing outstays its welcome and you are left wanting more. Its also great to hear intelligent lyrics sung with honesty and directness in the singer's native Geordie accent - no pretending to have come from California here. I could recommend this album to just about anyone.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a great second album, NME slated it, but it is really very good.
I guess it is just easier to slate something than praise it. The park have managed to follow up their last album wit something cool and classy, but that just doesn't sell magazines.
I guess it is just easier to slate something than praise it. The park have managed to follow up their last album wit something cool and classy, but that just doesn't sell magazines.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant lyrics, powerful delivery
The lead singer's voice is really rich and strong - obviously a really big, fit, guy with an active brain and a real grasp of lyrics. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Smith
Biting, intelligent, high energy indie rock
Some said not as good as the previous but they clearly didn't listen; its a direct progression and improvement. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Alister King
Brilliant follow-up to 'A certain trigger'
Could Maximo Park repeat the excellence of their first album. Yes, they can and yes they did.
Published on 27 Nov 2009 by Dom Dee
Only just discovered this gem
I am late discovering maximo Park, only really heard them properly for the first year while watching Glastonbury on tv and really enjoyed their set. Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2009 by Mark Shaw
mildly disappointing
I saw Maximo Park on the TV coverage of the Glastonbury Festival and thought they were brilliant. In my opinion 'Our Velocity' is their best song, which is why I opted to buy this... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by E. Woods
maximo park album
Good album. Arrived promptly although looked second hand when i purchased from new. had a scatched case and sticky bits over it.
Published on 5 May 2009 by N. Davis
Utterly Brilliant
First lets start with the jargon.
Lyrically mature, musically complex but accessible....OK?
Now the real stuff. Read more
Lyrically mature, musically complex but accessible....OK?
Now the real stuff. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2008 by Dr. J. D. Mitchell
biting, intelligent, high energy indie rock
some said not as good as the previous but they clearly didnt listen; its a direct progression and improvment. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2008 by Alister King
Maximo Park - Inaccurate preconceptions
I loath people who comment on Paul Smiths accent saying it is 'geordie'. It isn't 'geordie' at all, hes from near Middlesbrough and therefore labeling him in such a way is way of... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2007 by R. J. Haswell
Your Earthly Pleasure
This is a brilliant second album from Maxïmo Park. Their sound has matured from their first album, and the size of the vinyl makes the album art look so much better than the CD.
Published on 11 Oct 2007 by Sam Halverson
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