Bleep

Maximo Park were just as bold and anxious as any other group around, and even more adventurous sonically. Their second LP for Warp, Our Earthly Pleasures doubled down on the latent experimentalism lying beneath the surface, folding in a few more outre influences without losing the spark and swing that separated them from the pack. Fifteen years on, it’s clear that the band was onto something special.

In celebration of that anniversary, Warp has Earthly Pleasures back on vinyl for the first time since its initial release. The record starts with cracking early single ‘Girls Who Play Guitar’, a taut work of pop-y punk about frontman Paul Smith’s favourite subject: girls far too cool to look his way. A pervasively droning synth line extends across the entire track, adding a welcomed bit of agitation to the upstroked guitar chug. There’s even more synth texture on the beatific ‘Our Velocity’ which bottles up the noise before exploding into a massive chorus, while ‘The Unshakable’ cuts loose without all the gizmos. It isn’t all slashing riffs and shouted hooks though: ‘Sandblasted and Set Free’ goes midtempo with some lovely organ patches to bring the melody home. A fine showing indeed from Maximo Park that’s aged well in its eclecticism.