You know that incredibly catchy bit in ‘Apply Some Pressure’? It had me completely sold, and the number of times I put that song on repeat is just too embarrassing to tell. And admit it, so did you. Maximo Park’s debut had a few of those moments, but perhaps not enough. Maximo Park’s sophomore album is in so many ways the same as the first one, sometimes right down to suspicions of copy and paste techniques. It means, however, that there are some incredibly catchy bits here as well. Also, the fine line between suitably grand and stupidly pompous is crossed a couple of times, and it’s just too brutal to ignore. There is just something really annoying about bands with potential when they’ve had potential for way too long. Thus the risk of fading into mediocrity is sadly becoming more and more likely. Still, remember the catchy bits, like in ‘The Unshockable’. As soon as these guys manage to surround the catchy bits with some more quality stuff, it would be a hell of a lot easier to fully appreciate them than they allow us to now.
Øyvind Rones