Albums

Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger

Bill Cummings 16/05/2005

Rating: 4/5

Whilst the NME salivates over the countless wannabe poor pastiche peddlers (the Kaiser Chiefs and The Bravery spring to mind), Maximo Park have steadily grown organically into quite possibly the best art rock prospect in the country. Now its a not a statement I make lightly but on the evidence of this their debut album they have enough swagger, wit, poise and intelligence to knock the rest into a top hat.

The singles "Apply Some Pressure" and the glorious "Graffiti" are a riot of angular guitar shapes and a vocal wit and vulnerability last seen with Jarvis in the dying embers of britpop. Elsewhere "Acrobat" is REM's "belong" subverted for 2005, while "Kiss you better" is a gloriously tragic blast of melody reminiscent of the Smiths, and "Going Missing" builds magically before firing off a chorus of choppy excellence ("I'm going missing for awhile/ I've got nothing left to lose").

If indeed Maximo park usher in the new wave of guitar bands that I have observed below the radar of the mainstream in the past few months (Luxembourg, The Boyfriends, The Long Blondes, The Race, Corporation:blend) then maybe the assault of intelligent rock on the mainstream won't just be limited to this certain trigger alone.

(originally part of the This Month We Have Mostly Been Listening To... feature)