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Review: Maxïmo Park’s “Quicken The Heart”

May 15, 2009 4:25 PM

  In the States at least, the music of Maxïmo Park is a little under-the-radar.  It shouldn’t be.  They are one of the best, smartest bands working today.  They deliver spiky, British, punk-driven new-wave that sounds like it would’ve fit right in, in the early eighties. In Paul Smith, they have an excellent vocalist.  His lyrics are sharp and precise.  Every one of his lines is highly quotable.  In another time he might have been a great novelist.  Often his band’s music is as brutal-sounding as his lyrics are professorial.  It’s an excellent contrast and it makes the band stand out. 

“Quicken The Heart” is their third studio record.  Four years ago on their classic debut, “A Certain Trigger,” they set the tone with standout tracks like “Apply Some Pressure” and “Going Missing.”  That album was a rather raw assault at times, tempered by the band’s knack for catchy tunes.  On “Our Earthly Pleasures,” two years ago, producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters) cleaned up their sound considerably.  That album featured the up-tempo, “Our Velocity” and the breakup ballad, “Books From Boxes,” two of the best songs from that year, and maybe even of the decade!  (I kid you not.)  “Quicken The Heart” returns the band to the more aggressive tone of “A Certain Trigger.”  It’s a sound which thoroughly suits them. 

“Wraithlike” begins the set with a pounding energy which threatens to bust doors wide open.  The song is punctuated by a fuzzy, pervasive siren-like sound, which I assume is provided by keyboardist, Lukas Wooller.  In the chorus, Smith describes the aftermath of what seems to be the collapse of a relationship. “Copies of Sight and Sound she left lying around on the floor. / They said I’d forget her voice, / That’s untrue. / It’s just not as sharp as before.”  Smith never shortchanges the audience when it comes to little lyrical details.

“The Penultimate Clinch” is the most retro sounding track on here, recalling Joy Division, Mission of Burma and very early Cure all at once.   The main element which sticks is the very memorable, repetitive guitar line during the verses.  Archis Tiku’s bass-line has just the right level of fuzz throughout.  Toward the end of the song, it changes and becomes much brighter.  It is then when we get the chorus. 

“The Kids Are Sick Again” works much the same way.  It blossoms into what is essentially one giant chorus which consumes the last minute of the track.  Up until that point, it’s a whirling, fascinating moody, tempo-shifting bit of new-wave.  Wooller’s keyboards are especially magnetic and appealing during this part of the song.  The eventual chorus is somewhat of a downer. “The kids are sick again. / Nothing to look forward to. / They jump the cliff again. / Future sinks below the blue.”  It’s an anthem for an apathetic generation.  It speaks to suburban youth, bored out of their minds trying to find something to do in the summer. Even more important, even if it doesn’t directly say it, the song is perhaps pointing to a bigger conclusion.  The youth have good reason to be bored, scared and pessimistic.  Anyone who has kept up on events knows that this is true. With the world economy currently in the tank and mediocrity ruling within our culture, what is there really to look forward to?  If there is a silver lining to this track, it’s that it sounds bright.  Perhaps the song itself is a glimmer of hope.  Considering that it takes a while to take off, it seems like a daring pick for the disc’s first single.   

“A Cloud Of Mystery,” finds Smith skillfully describing a made-up woman and how her makeup is merely a façade.  “In a crowded room, / Her painted features smothered in gloom, / Already resigned. / At night she scrapes / Away the face that she creates. / The mirror sighs…”  You don’t often get writing of this caliber in rock songs.  Within these few lines, Smith has delved deeply into the human psyche to show his dissatisfied subject and the mask she wears.  It’s brilliant. 

“Calm” should’ve been the first single but it’ll probably be the second.  Like “Apply Some Pressure” and “Books From Boxes” before it, it should be mandatory listening. At first, the guitars are in the background, letting Wooller’s keyboards take center stage.  Suddenly, guitarist Duncan Lloyd bursts in to add some thunder to the track.   Smith describes an absent/perhaps former lover “I wake up and I find a trace of you there.  / So sullen. / Your words haunt the air.”   There’s beauty within the deep tension. 

“In Another World (You Would’ve Found Yourself By Now)” is equally single-worthy and appealing.  The main appeal of Maxïmo Park might be that their melodies have some sharp turns.  They might go straight for a while but there’s real payoff when sudden shifts take place.  The chorus of this song is a great example of this method being put into action. 

When Smith sings, “I want to knock your body out inch by inch,” on “Let’s Get Clinical,” it is not a well-mannered threat of violence.  Rather the song is about a gin-soaked sexual escapade.  “Let’s Get Clinical,” indeed! 

Don’t fear.  “Roller Disco Dreams” doesn’t suit the roller disco. It’s another well-crafted, high-energy rock number.  Smith discusses a blooming relationship, expressing concern.  “If this is a grower, why can’t we take things slower?”

“Tanned” is all about a summer romance with a younger woman.  The attention to detail given to her piece of chewing gum alone is striking.  Also, the track ends, dissolving into an intriguing sonic mix of whooshes and buzzes.  Perhaps this is Maxïmo Park’s nod to their record company.  (They are a rock band on the primarily electronic-driven Warp label!) 

“Questing, Not Coasting” is typical of the band.  At its quieter moments, its sense of longing is palpable.  As usual, the chorus comes as a sudden explosion.  This track would’ve fit right in on “A Certain Trigger,” and it would make an excellent single. 

“Overland, West Of Suez” is another upbeat number. It’s a bit moody in its tone, but drummer, Tom English keeps everything together with his tight beat.  Wooller trades his more synthetic keyboard tone for a decidedly more retro organ. 

The album closes with “I Haven’t Seen Her In Years,” an appealing bit of “closure” in more sense than one.  Smith sings the refrain, “She ripped me to shreds. / I haven’t seen her in years. / Time is over-rated. / Momentum carries me. / You were my ailment and yet…. / We can’t fall from this world.”  Have I said enough how Paul Smith is a great lyricist?  This track show’s all of the band’s best qualities. 

“Quicken The Heart” continues Maxïmo Park’s impressive discography.  This is the band to point to when naysayers whine about how there aren’t any appealing, smart rock bands out there.  The question is:  why aren’t these guys selling millions of records?  They definitely deserve massive amounts of praise!  Spread the word and get this record! 

May 15, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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