Maximo Park: Live In Tokyo
I’d really hoped to post more live sets around here once I got version 2.0 up and running, but somehow I’ve ended up slacking in that department. Regardless, what better way to take a break from my epoch of an all-nighter than to bring some attention back to Maximo Park, who - lest you forget - had the best debut of 2005 (considering that Bloc Party’s true debut came in 2004 with their self-titled debut). We haven’t heard much out of the Maximo camp recently, as last we heard of them was last spring after the release of A Certain Trigger’s final single, “Stay”, as they were supposedly readying their sophomore album for a late 2006 release. That “late 2006 release” has since been pushed back to March 2007, with a lead single - possibly “Our Velocity, which lead singer Paul Smith described as “a spaceship exploding” - out sometime in January. Smith went on to discuss the band’s decision not to team up with Trigger producer and god-of-all-things Paul Epworth (they’ve gone with Pixies producer Gil Norton in his stead) this time around, pointing towards the fact that it seems that Epworth has an air about him that suggests he’s a bit too aware of his god-of-all-things status:
“We wanted to use somebody who didn’t tell us what to do and didn’t think that they knew everything about music, and would have a particular sound.”
Ouch, then. First introduced to me as “kind of a Hot Hot Heat ripoff” by Lizzy nearly two years ago, Maximo grew on me so much that they actually eclipsed HHH (both pre and post-Elevator) and finish six spots above the aforementioned Canadians on my year-end best albums of 2005 list. I was immediately hooked by the album’s near-flawless lead single, “Apply Some Pressure”, with that unbelievably addictive central guitar riff and its grueling pace, and the Park have subsequently earned themselves a spot near the top of my Bands I’d Kill To See Live But Haven’t Seen Yet list. Only further augmenting this desire is this fantastic official live recording, which I received as a bonus disc when I purchased the album on the day of its release in the UK last year.
SOUND QUALITY: A
Maximo Park, Live In Tokyo:
1. “Signal And Sign”
2. “The Coast Is Always Changing”
3. “Graffiti”
4. “I Want You To Stay”
5. “Limassol”
6. “Once, A Glimpse”
7. “Kiss You Better”
I’m all about the added bonuses, so here’s Field Music’s excellent remix of Maximo’s last single, “I Want You To Stay”. Field Music make the song completely their own, taking the bass-driven original and turning it into a jangly piano number far removed from the original, and it’s one of the best remixes I’ve heard all year.
MP3: “I Want You To Stay” (Field Music Remix) - Maximo Park
And while we’re on the topic of the “Stay” single, my main man Ramon Bloomberg (who also rocked that new Raconteurs vid) directed the track’s slick video, which you can and should download below. Let’s take a moment to give props to directors like Ramon and Elliot Jokelson who make their videos available for download for free on their personal website (*moment*, “props”). As for Ramon, he’s got some major projects coming down the pipeline, so remember the name.
Video: “I Want You To Stay”
Director: Ramon Bloomberg
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime]
A final note: My apologies for the slight lull in updates - it’s hard to get into pretentious music “critic” mode when you’re personal and academic life are simultaneously assaulting you with crisis after crisis from all directions, but I’m doing my best to forge ahead and keep the updates coming. However, if things slow down around here for a little while (which I sincerely hope they won’t), you’ll know why.