FREE: Our Earthly Pleasures by Maxïmo Park (CD, 2007)

The listing, Our Earthly Pleasures by Maxïmo Park (CD, 2007) has ended.

Maxïmo Park sounded so wound up and wiry on their debut, A Certain Trigger, it felt like the band might snap if they went any further in that direction on their next album. For Our Earthly Pleasures, the band recruited producer Gil Norton to fill out their sound; while Norton has done great things with bands like the Pixies and Foo Fighters, his heavily layered production ends up weighing down the band's formerly nimble rock. To be fair, Norton's approach does work on a few of Our Earthly Pleasures' more aggressive songs. "Girls Who Play Guitars" gets the album off to a great start, with synths buzzing with anticipation, taut basslines, and jagged riffs. The single "Our Velocity" follows suit, spilling over with burbling keyboards and an urgency that helps make up for the fact that it's far more conventional-sounding than anything Maxïmo Park has done before. Elsewhere, the album's bigger sound doesn't equal big impact, particularly on "By the Monument" and "The Unshockable," which miss the mark despite the band's impassioned delivery. And, while "A Fortnight's Time" doesn't quite work either, its witty lyrics ("When it comes to girls I'm mostly hypothetical/If I list their names it's purely alphabetical") almost save it. There are strong lyrics and memorable melodies throughout Our Earthly Pleasures, but, frustratingly, they don't come together as consistently as they did on A Certain Trigger. Despite the album's unevenness, the best songs show how Maxïmo Park's music can evolve into something as quirky and unique as their debut and as pop-minded as the approach they try here.

Comes with all original album packaging (including artwork) and jewel case may show minor wear. Any scratches on disc do not affect sound; tested & plays flawlessly.

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