In the mid 2000s, Maximo Park found themselves at the forefront of a burgeoning British guitar-music scene.
The Newcastle quintet’s debut album, 2005’s A Certain Trigger, introduced them as an intelligent and accessible group in the vein of likeminded nationals The Smiths, Blur, or Manic Street Preachers.
With sparkly riffs and catchy choruses, their debut was widely acclaimed and received a nomination for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. Alongside Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park lead an indie guitar charge towards mainstream British audiences.
However, like the country itself, Britain’s musical landscape has changed dramatically in the seven or so years that have passed.
While much of Europe wallows in recession, the charts have been monopolised by American pop acts and manufactured reality TV artists. For indie bands like Maximo Park, that’s made it difficult to compete with the pop juggernaut.
“For me, there’s been a kind of backlash against guitar music,” Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith concedes. “There’s a lot of radio play for more mainstream music at the moment. I’m told that in a time of recession people want happy music that they don’t have to think about too much. I don’t think that’s going to help anybody. You need to have music that’s fun, first and foremost, but also has an intelligence about it and emotional content, even if that’s on a small level.”
The new Maximo Park album is called The National Health. Their fourth record, it was released earlier in the year and has already been lauded as their finest work since their debut.“I’m told that in a time of recession people want happy music that they don’t have to think about too much. I don’t think that’s going to help anybody.”
Musically, the band ventures outside their traditional indie pop guitar sound, but without abandoning their penchant for infectious, shouty hooks. “Hips and Lips” incorporates electro rhythms while “Unfamilliar Places” is a sparse, string laden ballad. But while his lyrics verge on social commentary, Smith says there was no conscious attempt to make a political album.
“I think looking at the record after you’ve made it, things start to materialise and come together,” he suggests. “One of the themes of the record seems to be taking control of your own life, in a chaotic, out of control world. When you’re seeing stuff on the news globally that you’re appalled by and there’s an economic crisis in a lot of countries from the US to the UK, it’s easy to feel helpless. Like you have no personal power.”
Another theme on the record is identity, and in particular, Maximo Park’s working class roots. For example, on The National Health’s closing track “Waves Of Fear” Smith sings, “I’ve cleansed myself of shame / I’m second class ingrained,” over a crash of post-punk guitars and pounding drums.
“I guess that’s kind of a personal thing for me.” he says of the lyric.“Coming from a working class background and having an accent in a country where that matters. It’s kind of ridiculous but you end up saying, ‘this is me, this is who I am’. Hopefully people from around the world can listen to that and apply that to their own life. The National Health is not just about the health of our nation, it’s the health of any nation.”
In a few weeks, Maximo Park will unveil their new LP in the live setting to Australian audiences in their first tour since 2009. They’ll play Falls Festival in Lorne and Marion Bay, Southbound Festival in Perth, and two headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
Smith says the band are excited to be on their way, after already reaching fans in America and much of Europe during the year.
“I’m very proud of the new record and I think that when we play live there’s a really good energy,” he says. “It can be quite an exciting experience looking at the audience and seeing how they get into it.”
“We’re always trying to reach new people and a festival is one of those ideal opportunities where there’s people who only know maybe one song or don’t know what the band’s all about,” says Smith. “You can go, ‘this is what we’re all about.’ Hopefully they’ll like it and it’ll end up being a big communal experience.”“The National Health is not just about the health of our nation, it’s the health of any nation.”
Also on the Falls Festival bill are fellow British bands Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines, and eclectic Londoners, Bombay Bicycle Club. Smith is full of praise for the latter.
“I think bands like Bombay Bicycle Club are a kind of fresher start for people as a kind of way into listening to music with guitars,” he says. “They’re an interesting band, where they’ve gone off to work with the guy who produced Animal Collective [Ben H. Allen] and they’ve broadened their sound… It doesn’t feel stale, it feels fresh. I’d like to think we’re bringing the same fresh approach on The National Health.”
Aside from touring, Smith is unsure what exactly lies ahead for Maximo Park, but more new material could well be on the way.
“We’re on a bit of a hot streak in terms of writing,” he says. “I can’t pretend that it was super easy to make this record … but once we did it felt like we were writing some of the best songs we’ve ever written. I would love to keep writing and hopefully make another record as soon as we can and get it out there for people.”
The National Health is out now through V2 Music. Maximo Park play Southbound (details here) and the Falls Festival at New Year’s, details here; as well as two headline dates in Sydney and Melbourne. Full dates and details below.
Maximo Park Australian Tour 2013 Dates
w/ support from Glass Towers. Tickets on sale now.
Wednesday January 2nd – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets: www.handsometours.com; Corner Box Office (57 Swan St Richmond 11am-8pm Mon-Sat), 03 9427 9198 or cornerhotel.com
Thursday January 3rd – The Hi-Fi, Sydney
Tickets: www.handsometours.com, www.thehifi.com.au or 1300THEHIFI
For all Falls Festival and Southbound details: www.fallsfestival.com.au +www.southboundfestival.com.au
