Maximo Park - Quicken The Heart (Quicken The Heart - Maximo Park)

Member Name: carlmcq

Product:	Quicken The Heart - Maximo Park
Date:	31/08/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Another Maximo Park

Disadvantages: A lack of progression perhaps??

A feast of indie-fun for all you rockers out there. This is "Quicken the Heart", the third outing from Geordie-NME-favourites Maximo Park. That's probably doing them an understatement already as I doubt they want to be tarred with such a brush, but in this fickle day and age for music, that's what they've got to live with.

Quicken the Heart is the third album from the five-piece, following the underground success of "A Certain Trigger" and "Our Earthly Pleasures". When I say underground success, I do of course mean they were extremely successful in their own right, but still lacked the killer punch to get Maximo Park into the mainstream, A-list bracket which British bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs have done with such aplomb in recent years.

Being a fan of their debut album, A Certain Trigger, but having never brought their second piece of work, just admiring their singles from it, I must admit I was expecting big things from this album. The slight problem I've had in past is, not just with Maximo Park but with similar bands of this ilk, that aside from the singles released, there's a lot of 'filler' within the albums. Maximo Park brag Top 20 hits such as "Apply Some Pressure", "Graffiti", "Going Missing" (All A Certain Trigger"), "Our Velocity" and "Books From Boxes" (Our Earthly Pleasures)...but all we've seen from Quicken The Heart, despite now being out for several months, is a number 50 entry for "The Kids Are Sick Again". On that basis straight away then, this album is weaker than their previous two.

Having reached number 6 in the UK album charts though, their success is consistent and impressive, proof that can be seen at their energetic live shows. The first few tracks on the album such as "Wraithlike" and "The Penultimate Clinch" sound under-produced and don't pack the vigour and 'oomph' which tracks I've previously heard from them had. Maybe it's the speakers I'm hearing them from but even when it gets to the single "The Kids Are Sick Again", there's an under-whelming feeling, which I find surprising from such an exciting two-guitar piece band.

That said, the tracks do have a consistency about them that was previously lacking. The single from the album is clearly a strong track, but tunes such as "Calm", "In Another World" and "A Cloud of Mystery" do instantly impress, with their familiar formula from the band that many fans will love - the old-fashioned style of slow, melodic verses and high-tempo choruses. It still works and anyone who's a fan of this music will be bound to love it.

One could argue they rarely venture from the norm and perhaps lacking the adventure to progress with their music. "Let's Get Clinical" has a Cure-esque rhythmic baseline to it, which is always a good thing in my book. "Questing, Not Coasting" was also released as a single this summer, but failed to chart as far as I'm aware. But don't let that fact take anything away from the song. What appears to be a slow-burner that takes a while to build to turns into melodic freefall and is music to anyone's ears.

The overall feeling is though, that despite the consistency of what's on offer, it's awfully similar to their debut album, which is over four years old. Don't get me wrong; I'm a Maximo Park fan. It's just they could be lacking some direction to progress when other British bands around them are surpassing them in the record sales and airplay stakes. Do yourself a favour and buy this album and enjoy it - it's currently in the 2 for £10 offer at HMV. Then buy their debut album if you don't already own it to compare it. And then realise their debut album is slightly better, if only for the 'singles' on there. As I said, it's a fickle old world, isn't it?!

Summary: Just not quite hitting the right notes from their earlier stuff