Personalities | Maxïmo Park | Twenty-First Century | Rock
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2003–present)
Signed to Sheffield’s Warp Records, a label more synonymous with ambient dance acts like Boards of Canada, Newcastle’s Maxïmo Park – Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), Archis Tiku (bass), Lucas Wooller (keyboards) and Tom English (drums) – deliver a view of the north-east of England that is refreshingly different to the sterilized slants on London. Like Pulp before them, they somehow undermine pop stardom, dissecting it and revealing it as a sham. At the same time, there is an abstraction in lines like ‘I’ll do graffiti if you sing to me in French’ that is irresistibly mysterious. Their label of choice also offers a freedom from normal expectations imposed on up and coming bands.
Debut album A Certain Trigger (2005) portrayed a band happy to highlight their personal misgivings (through Smith’s pithy lyrics) over the top of frenetic, often asymmetrical indie rock that remains head and shoulders above any of their contemporaries. Our Earthly Pleasures (2007) and Quicken The Heart (2009) followed.
Styles & Forms | Twenty-First Century | Rock
Personalities | Katie Melua | Twenty-First Century | Rock
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