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Rating:
Despite reaching their sixth album of new material with this "Risk To Exist" (three of which entered the top ten in the UK), Maximo Park is part of that plethora of bands that did not live up to the promise shown with their early works.
They try again with this new album, produced by Tom Schick (Wilco), and this time they partially hit the target. We are far from the glory achieved with the first two albums "A Certain Trigger" and the always excellent "Our Earthly Pleasures," but the course is corrected, and on a qualitative level, they at least return to the level of the good third album "Quicken The Heart."
The album starts well with two of the three tracks chosen to preview it: "What Did We Do to You to Deserve This?" is a sufficiently edgy and spirited start, "Get High (No I Don't)" is cleverly nostalgic of the band's early work, and "What Equals Love" is stunningly catchy and fresh, perhaps their best track in ten years.
After this excellent trilogy, something falters: the lead single "Risk To Exist" is adequate but too formulaic, and unfortunately, the fillers become too frequent ("I'll Be Around" above all, but also "Work And Then Wait," "Make What You Can" and the closing "Alchemy" pass without leaving a trace and oscillate between mediocre and poor).
Fortunately, amidst so much blandness, there are qualitative peaks that ultimately allow the work to scrape a respectable pass: "My Hero" pulsates and bounces with pleasure, "The Reason I Am Here" is an instant indie classic one hundred percent, and "Respond To The Feeling" revitalizes the effort just before the dull finale.
"Risk To Exist" is by no means an essential comeback, but at least it allows Smith and company to regain a little vitality, hoping that the future brings more interesting things worthy of Maximo Park's talent.
Best track: What Equals Love?
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