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Rating: 2007 may perhaps be remembered as the year of the second album from English bands that had already made a breakthrough with their debut. After Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, and Kaiser Chiefs, here are Maximo Park with "Our Earthly Pleasure".
From the first listen, it seems that the band from Newcastle fully confirms the characteristics of their first success: a melancholic but fast and immediate British rock-pop, distinct from electronics and keyboards.
The album opens with the spontaneous "Girls Who Play Guitar", continuing with "Our Velocity", the first "bold" single with frequent changes of rhythm. "Books From Boxes" is among the best tracks but opens a "contemplative" phase of the album: "Russian Literature", "Karaoke Plays", and "Your Urge" have gloomy and wintry, perhaps a bit depressing, sounds. Only "The Unshockable", the most rock track, the excellent "By The Monument", and "A Fortnight's Time" with its '80s sound break this pattern that drags on until the end where "Sandblasted And Set Free" stands out excellently.
Maximo Park deserves credit for trying to keep the quality of their music high without distorting it to try to appeal to everyone. Although at first glance their style seems unchanged, "Our Earthly Pleasure" turns out to be a more complex work than the previous one: the songs are hard to remember and lack the repetitive choruses or danceable tunes we heard in "A Certain Trigger." With their indie and intellectual look, the six led by the charismatic Paul Smith are immediately serious, and with "Our Earthly Pleasure" they confirm themselves as a "mature" band that will probably not be considered just a flash in the pan.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Girls Who Play Guitars (03:12)
You've been with me a year to the day
Three hundred and sixty five days watching me decay
We used to talk about girls who play guitars
We used to talk about plans in tiny bars
In the gaps between words
Are the things that really intruige me
It's the gasps and the sighs
That say more about what's inside you
We used to climb aboard our high horse every time
We used to talk about boys with missin spines
[Chorus]
It's her life and a life is worth living
(it's her life)
It never struck her to pause for one minute
(it's her life)
The path of excess just led to boredom
You've lived your life with your mouth wide open
[Chorus]
It's her life and a life is worth living
(it's her life)
It never struck her to pause for one minute
(it's her life)
When you lie on my bed and you label me your friend
Don't you know how much that hurts?
You could pretend and I wouldn't know
I could be who you wanted in the dark
She goes out
She gets drunk
She gets off
She goes home
She gives in
It's her life
And a life is worth living
We used to talk about girls who play guitars
We used to talk about girls who play guitars
We used to talk about girls who play guitars
We used to talk about girls who play guitars
02 Our Velocity (03:20)
I'm not a man
I'm a machine
Chisel me down until I am clean
I buy books I never read
And then I tell you some more about me!
Beneath the concrete there's a sound
A muffled cry below the ground
There is a poison in the air
A mix of chemicals and fear
My words are just hunches
I'm not sure what they mean
You're asking for commitment when I’m somewhere in between
Never, never try to gauge temperature when you tend to travel at such speed
It's our velocity
Is it cold where you are this time of year?
You didn't leave a scar
A stream of numbers hit a screen and you're expected to know what they mean
Throughout the conflict I was serene
I can't outrun the sadness I've seen
Are you willing to resist for people you've never met?
The devil's wheel revolves but it needs to be reset
Never, never try to gauge temperature when you tend to travel at such speed
It's our velocity
Please tell me, is it cold where you are this time of year?
You didn't leave a scar
I've got no-one to call in the middle of the night anymore
I'm just alone with these thoughts
I've got no-one to call in the middle of the night anymore
I'm just alone with my thoughts
I watched a film to change my feelings
I'm strong enough to bear a burden
If everyone became this sensitive, I wouldn't have to be so sensitive
If everyone became so sensitive, perhaps I wouldn't be so sensitive
Love is a lie
Which means I've been lied to
Love is a lie
Which means I've been lying too
Love is a lie
Which means I've been lied to
Love is a lie
I've got no-one to call in the middle of the night anymore
I'm just alone with these thoughts
I've got no-one to call in the middle of the night anymore
I'm just alone with my thoughts
Never, never try to gauge temperature when you tend to travel at such speed
It's our velocity
03 Books From Boxes (03:28)
Night falls
And towns become circuit boards
We can beat the sun as long as we keep moving
From the air
Stadium lights stand out like flares
And all I know is that you're sat here right next to me
We rarely see
Warning signs in the air we breathe
Right now I feel each and every fragment
This paper trail leads right back to you…
You say you need me to step outside
You spent the evening unpacking books from boxes
You passed me up so as not to break a promise
Scattered polaroids and sprinkled words around your collar
In the long run, you said you knew that this would happen
This is something new
But it turns out it was borrowed, too
"why does every letdown have to be so thin?"
Rain explodes
At the moment that the cab door closed
I feel the weight upon your kiss; ambiguous
You have to leave. I appreciate that
But I hate when conversation slips out of our grasp
You spent the evening unpacking books from boxes
You passed me up so as not to break a promise
Scattered polaroids and sprinkled words around your collar
In the long run, you said you knew that this would happen
Two bodies in motion
This is a matter of fact
It wasn't built to last
You spent the evening unpacking books from boxes
You passed me up so as not to break a promise
Scattered polaroids and sprinkled words around your collar
In the long run, you said you knew that this would happen
The pounding rain continued it's bleak fall
And we decided just to write after all.
04 Russian Literature (03:07)
Modern architecture
Already left to decay
You don't know what you’re breathing in
What it is, I couldn't say
Well meet in Russian Literature
Fourth Floor midday
Travelling Trans-Pennine
She said she'd wait..
More empty buildings for invisible men
No market value to justify the price of the rent
Ignorance isn't bliss,
Familiarity still ends in contempt
We're gonna need some time
But she said she'd wait for me…
Are you hopeful or just gullible?
She won't be saved
We can't be saved
I can't live my life being nervous about tomorrow
I already knew her name
I already knew, well I knew her name
There's a news blackout 'cause it just got worse
Status depends on the size of your purse
There it is again
That lock of hair that won't sit still
Our earthly pleasures
Distract us against our will…
Are you hopeful or just gullible?
We won't be saved
She can't be saved
I can't live my life feeling nervous about tomorrow
I already knew her name
I already knew
She won't be saved
We can't be saved
I can't live my life feeling nervous about tomorrow
I already knew her name
I already knew, well I knew her name
06 Your Urge (03:57)
You don't have to deny your urge
It doesn't make you bad
On our admission the makeweight lifted
Stop dwelling on the past
I think about the three of us. I wonder how we tessellate
It would have been much wiser to allow this feeling to abate
Empty words, so free of connotations
All dreams come to an end
Codify your utterance, communicate your needs
Prepare your vocabulary
My nervous system fails me, my thoughts are becoming fugitive
And when I'm in your arms, I wonder how much I can give
The weekend is a godsend
The night time is a lifeline
Another useless fumble
Another drunken stumble
The pinkness 'round your iris
Reveals that you've crying
But I don't know what my crime is
I cause upset without trying
People are judged on their mistakes
And how much money they make
No one wants to lose their youth
In a trench like this
Visiting the same places
Kissing all the same faces
Building up support
Looking for rapport
I empty out my pockets at the end of the night
Another scrawled first name
Another sense of shame
I need to get to bed before I fail myself again
We got too close and I grabbed your hand
The night time is my lifeline
The weekend is my Godsend
Another useless fumble
Another drunken stumble
The pinkness near your iris
Reveals that you've been crying
But I don't know what my crime is
Behind my crumbling veneer
My strength is sapping
My heartstrings are snapping…
07 The Unshockable (03:16)
The lines of transport make their way through towns
The lines of transport make their way through towns
At any cost name a price
Digging through towns
Make way like Moses through the waves
Pick and choose from the folklore
To describe the biggest events
Did I make it all up?
Detritus gathers
Until dirt is the only layer you see
Scratch away scrap away
Lacerate
Keep scratching
[Chorus]
Have we become the unshockable
Or have we become the saddened?
Activity is absent
Things are looking scarce
The human heart is on trial for a limited spell
The human heart is on offer for a limited spell
Your body was your great strength
How do you feel now there's nothing left?
The moment's gone
For me you spent too many hours in bed
Do you think this is
(do you think this is?)
Cruel?
Sniggering clowns
In laughter
We hide behind our hands
Take them away move them away
Stand up straight
Keep turning
[Chorus]
Have we become the unshockable
Or have we become the saddened?
Activity is absent
Things are looking scarce
[Chorus]
Have we become the unshockable
Or have we become the saddened?
Activity is absent
Things are looking scarce
Conceal those thoughts that linger
On your breath
Keep them hidden
Or they'll catch their death
Conceal those thoughts that linger
On your breath
Keep them hidden
Or they'll catch their death
The lines of transport forge their way through towns
The moods of transport forge their way through towns
Take them away move them away
Take them away keep turning
Take them away move them away
Take them away keep turning
[Chorus]
Have we become the unshockable
Or have we become the saddened?
Activity is absent
Things are looking scarce
[Chorus]
Have we become the unshockable
Or have we become the saddened?
Activity is absent
Things are looking scarce
08 By the Monument (02:59)
You said you'd like to see me again
And then it all unravelled
I heard that you were seeing someone
Not such an insignificant other
It seems my moves were far too swift
In life some things are worth the effort
I touched the place where your hair had been
I pulled on the shirt that you left round mine
[Chorus]
Defacing pictures of famous people on the train
Standing by the monument just waiting for the rain
In my wallet with your photobooth smile
And I wearing my waterproof jacket
Posterity has hold of us now
Am I just waiting for the next chapter
We'll sleep tonight in seperate towns
At dust we see our disparate futures
I tore a sock to bind up your golden hair
We found a hotel bar to sustain our last night in vain
[Chorus]
Defacing pictures of famous people on the train
Standing by the monument just waiting for the rain
No more late night calls
Where tear drops fall
No more late night calls
Where tear drops fall
Tear drops fall
Standing by the monument just waiting for the rain
I'm just passing my time with you on my mind
I'm just wasting my precious time
I'm just wasting my time with you on my mind
09 Nosebleed (03:25)
You were born in winter, but summer came to fast
Like a child you can't control, now isn't it obvious?
That you still value his word, now that it's not there
You ask another question, now isn't it obvious?
Some people hide their emotions, and some people show too much
I'm aiming for somewhere central, now isn't it obvious?
He changed his look for you
You changed your life for him
Now, was the verdict worth the trial?
Did we go to far? Is that why you nose is bleeding?
Last night I dreamt we kissed on a bench in the evening
What went wrong with you? I never took you for a fool
But all it takes is a rumour, now isn't it obvious?
I'd love to clear the air but I can't bear to hear your voice
It's tainted with his name, now isn't it obvious?
He changed his look for you
You changed your life for him
Now, was the verdict worth the trial?
Did we go to far? Is that why you nose is bleeding?
Last night I dreamt we kissed on a bench in the evening
(Instrumental Bridge)
Did we go to far? Is that why you nose is bleeding?
Last night I dreamt we kissed on a bench in the evening
I was the one who followed and you were the one who was leading
When last night I dreamt we kissed on a bench in the evening
11 Sandblasted and Set Free (03:58)
The overlap
The dyed glass
The centrepiece
Sewn-up
Solarised
A Dividing line
Like a cog
Standing still
Follow me down this rope ladder
Our bodies becoming shapes in the sails
It's a leap of faith towards a crash landing
This ice softly splinters
Sandblasted and set free
A trial run on paper.
The earth is solid, you can dig it up
Or you can pave it over
Balconies
Live diving boards
Naked heels
Cotton reels
A poster
A placard
Perspex
Creates a spectrum
Follow me down this rope ladder
Our bodies becoming shapes in the sails
It's a leap of faith towards a crash landing
This ice softly splinters
Sandblasted and set free
A trial run on paper.
The earth is solid, you can dig it up
Or you can pave it over
Sandblasted and set free
I fell in love with flirtation
We're moving targets, you can set us up
The brevity of sensation
12 Parisian Skies (03:56)
Parisian skies
Shadows beneath your eyes
All we have now
(And the arc of your brow)
You came to leave these shores
An inkling in your pores
We came to bid farewell
The tears began to swell
Oh, I don't think she knew
I can't forget her
The dark withholds
And lives unfold
We always slept so well
Our bodies seemed to gel
The mind persists
We have thoughts to exist
It was a test I failed
Her passion never paled
Oh, I don't think she knew
How much I loved her
Oh, I don't think she knew
Is this the thrill of the chase?
How can I keep up the pace?
Parisian skies
Shadows beneath your eyes
We always slept so well
The presents casts a spell
You said we never talked
But there's a lightness that it brought
Refracting all my sins
We never lacked a thing
Oh, I don't think she knew
How much I loved her
Oh, I don't think she knew
Oh Rebecca, your loss was mine too
Did you ever feel the thrill of the chase?
The breath on your neck in the locked embrace
Did you ever feel the thrill of the chase?
The hairs on your neck in a lost embrace
I love the tiny veins on you back
They remind me of the way porcelain cracks
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Other reviews
By GrantNicholas
"Our Velocity," a truly immediate indie-rock gem with a refrain of notable melodic impact.
"By The Monument" turns out to be the best episode of the album; a perfect pop song guided by timed handclaps and near-perfect melody.
