Little known fact! A new album from Maximo Park is the signifier of a good year for music so it looks like 2017 is going to be a banner year then as Risk To Exist is almost upon us!
Getting to long player number six from the Newcastle quartet: Is having an album labeled as “mature sounding” a death knell for a band? I don’t think so. And as Maximo Park undoubtedly point out on Risk To Exist, it’s a label that should be worn like a badge of honor.
One of the things that keeps MP fans coming back album after album lately is that they never know what to expect from the band. Maybe you’ll get a moody synth-driven one like Too Much Information or maybe a rocker like The National Health? Or maybe something like Risk To Exist which lies somewhere in between those albums but adding a smooth Pop sheen over it all and infusing a healthy dose of Our Earthly Pleasures into the mix as well.
“What Did We Do to You to Deserve This?” shuffles in like a fresh Average White Band track imbuing some funk into Maximo’s brand of New Wave/Alternative rock. But then that MP signature style of rock and/or roll hits on a track like “What Equals Love” or “Get High (No, I Don’t)” with Paul Smith’s unmistakable voice shining through.
The title track has all that great Maximo Park magic down: accented Tom English fills complementing Lukas Wooler’s keys building to a sweeping chorus by Smith undercut by Duncan Lloyd’s riffing. “I’ll Be Around” is another subdued number which subtly introduces some hornage into Maximo’s musical repertoire which really come front and center during “The Hero” which plays up the newer funk aspects of the album. Think a cross between !!! and Jamiriquai.
“Respond To The Feeling” is another track that captures that comparison and paves the way to “Alchemy” with its driving beats and swooping Paul Smith vocal lines thus ending another Maximo Park album that will surely keep fans on their toes and listening intently over and over again.
Risk To Exist is out on April 21st through Daylighting/Cooking Vinyl. You can pre-order yours over here and here.