Featured music: Maximo delivers a maximal debut
By Jeff Renfro
'A Certain Trigger,' the debut album by England's Maximo Park, is a jittery, sexy pop record that exhibits a level of polish well beyond some established bands. The record is almost perfect, featuring one notable misstep toward the end. The tracks' lyrics are simple, featuring universal themes, and are extremely danceable.
Maximo Park (Tom English-drums; Duncan Lloyd-guitar; Paul Smith-vocals; Archis Tiku-bass; and Lukas Wooller-keyboards) are from Northeast England. The instrument playing members gre* up together, Smith completing the line up two years ago. The band self-produced an EP which attracted the attention of Warp Records. After writing and touring in England, the band went into the studio and produced this phenomenal record.
The album opens with the song 'Signal and Sign,' which starts with the drums fading in, an appropriate start for an album that relies so heavily on its rhythm section. This track features more keyboards than the rest of the album, but serves as a great introduction to their sound.
The second track on the album is the outstanding lead single 'Apply Some Pressure,' already a top 20 song on the English charts. The keyboards are gone, giving the song a ra* sound. The band plays with such urgency that it seems Smith is struggling to get the lyrics out in time with the music. This song also lets the listener kno* that the band is capable of funny, yet sophisticated lyrics. The song features the line, 'You kno* that I love to see you in that dress / I hope that I live to see you undress.' The song does not let up, including what has to be the most aggressive bridge in popular music in a long time, before intensifying the song's conclusion.
'Postcard of a Painting' is another standout song. It is impossible not to nod one's head and tap a foot while the song is playing. The keyboards come back at times, acting as a simple background to the drums, preventing the guitar's sound from being softened.
The only weak song on the album is the penultimate track 'Acrobat.' It features spoken word verses and fuzzed out guitars. All of the intensity, humor, and tight rhythms included in the rest of the album are gone. It is hard to even imagine what the band was thinking with this song. Despite merely being a heinous song, it destroys the momentum that the band has created throughout the album.
On the band's web site (www.maximopark.com) there is a manifesto of sorts. The band writes 'We write pop songs about real life. We have no desire to mythologize our existence.' The universal lyrics tend to focus on the usual rock favorites of girls and angst, addressed in a unique, playful way. The band shows that passion is more palatable than obscurity. When American rock radio gets a hold of the singles on this record, Maximo Park could be the next big thing. Grade: A-
*Contact Jeff Renfro at (408) 554-4546 or jrenfro@scu.edu.