Our Earthly Pleasures (Our Earthly Pleasures - Maximo Park)

Member Name: iToast

Product:	Our Earthly Pleasures - Maximo Park
Date:	07/01/08 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Creative, unusual, catchy, thoughtful

Disadvantages: None

~~Introduction~~
Maximo Park have the privilege of holding 7 places out of 10 of my most played songs on iTunes, which has been the state for at least 6 months now. There is a reason for this is that whatever mood I'm in, I always feel like listening to them. Sometimes I don't feel like listening to some of my other favourite bands, but Maximo Park sound good whatever mood you're in.

The band is from Newcastle, and their frontman sings with a very distinct Geordie accent. They first came to fame through their first album, A Certain Trigger, which came out in 2005. It's a great album, but just not comparable with it's successor, Our Earthly Pleasures, which came out in April of last year.

~~The Songs~~

~Girls Who Play Guitars~
This starts with a long note played on some strange setting on the keyboard. The real song starts after about 10 seconds of this note. The song sets the tone for the rest of the album. Cheerful and unusual, with memorable lyrics and a catchy tune. The guitar riff in the chorus especially is brilliant.

~Our Velocity~
This came out half a month before the album as a single, and is the least unusual song on the album in my opinion. Brilliant in a more mainstream way, it features a surprising number of transitions between different tunes and choruses and quiet bits and loud bits. Lyrics you'll have trouble memorising because there's so much to remember, but once you've got them it's a great song to sing along to.

~Books To Boxes~
The guitar is much quieter in this song than in the rest, with small, sweet melodies instead of brash, loud chords. The whole song has a melancholy feel to it, and the lyrics reflect this, concerning a couple breaking up. Again we have lots of different phases, which seamlessly run into each other, returning to the chorus in the end.

~Russian Literature~
Starts of with the keyboard playing some wistful-sounding chords, but then gets going with some aggressive guitar and keyboards. The song is minor the whole way through, with a feel of regret and remorse about it. This doesn't stop it from being very fast and intense. An excellent song.

~Karaoke Plays~
This song has just been released as a single, which didn't surprise me. It's been my favourite song on the album from the beginning. Starting with a slow guitar solo, it goes into a slow, listless tune, with a slightly sadder sounding pre-chorus and a really phenomenal chorus. I have to close my eyes and mouth the words every time I hear it.

~Your Urge~
The only song on the album that is rated 4 stars on iTunes. Definitely the weak link, this song is too... incessant is the word I think. It just keeps on drumming into your ears until you get bored of it.

~The Unshockable~
Starts off with drums, and then aggressive vocals and bass. Quite discordant at times, which makes it different. The chorus is more normal, but still makes very good listening. There is one phase where the tone and mood of the song completely changes and it switches to a very sweet, melodic tune that repeats a couple of times before going back to the main theme.

~By the Monument~
It took quite a while for me to get to like this; at first I thought it was just a song to fill up the rest of the album between the good songs. But now I've listened to it so many times, I really like the song. The keyboards have more to do in this than the others, and the guitar less. This makes it a lot less outward, and the feel of it is tired and thoughtful.

~Nosebleed~
Another song that didn't immediately do it for me, because it's so slow and quiet, especially to start off with. However, the lyrics are very meaningful, and the song in general has such a bittersweet theme that you can't help but like it after a while.

~A Fortnight's Time~
Another song typical of the album and of Maximo Park. It has a more electro kind of feel to it, mainly because of the beeping tones of the keyboard through the verses, which vanish for the chorus.

~Sandblasted And Set Free~
Starts off with bass, guitar and violin, which is unusual. The first verse has dreamy voices muttering phrases in between the main lyrics, which is also something different. The chorus is slow and brilliantly inevitable. The lyrics are easy to remember, but not very meaningful. Or else very meaningful, but they just went right over my head.

~Parisian Skies~
Another melancholy, regretful song about a lover who went away. Little touches like the keyboard and the guitar complementing each other during the verses make this song for me. The chorus is a bit too desparate and loud in my opinion, but it doesn't spoil the song. A great final track.


~~Conclusion~~
This is classed as Indie Rock, but I think it's too melodic and thoughtful for that really. Also, you don't have to be a fan of Indie to enjoy it. My sister, who normally is to be found listening to the soundtrack of Hight School Musical 2, enjoys it, even though she doesn't like most of my music.
This is a really creative effort all the way through, and I especially like the little interludes in the middle of tracks where the song changes into something completely different for half a minute, and then goes back to the main tune. There are little touches of flair and brilliance in most of the songs, which you don't get in every album these days.

Summary: The message I've been trying to convey is: This is a good album.