Maximo Park, Newcastle Academy

Maxïmo Park

May 14, 2009

Is it just me, or have Maxïmo Park become quietly huge? It only dawned on me that they were a big deal now when I saw them placed third from top on this year’s Reading/Leeds Main Stage bill. It’s not surprising, then, that most of this tour is sold out, and even less surprising that the two Newcastle dates were the first to do so. Expectations are high, but the crowd is partisan – that much is clear from the opening bars of ‘The Coast Is Always Changing’, the crowd in full voice throughout.

But how does the new material compare to the classics? Sirens blaring, ‘Wraithlike’ holds its own against the euphoric opener, with Paul Smith evidently enjoying the use of his new megaphone prop. The megaphone crops up again during ‘The Kids Are Sick Again’, which stands out mostly due to the fact that it’s the only other new song a lot of people appear to know. However, the rest of the material from Quicken The Heart somehow doesn’t have the same impact. It’s not that the new songs are bad, per say, but none of them particularly stand out as highlights of the set . For me, the lone exception comes during the band’s encore, with ‘Questing, Not Coasting’ making its mark with a stirring chorus that more than makes up for the almost cringe-worthy line that precedes it (“Hey you, what’s new?/I know your face/Hey you, what’s new?/Let’s go some place”). The live setting fails to mask clumsy lyrics elsewhere however – for example, ‘Let’s Get Clinical’s rhyming of ‘criminal’ and ‘clinical’ just comes off as cheesy.

But – and this is a huge “but”, one that almost makes the entirety of the above paragraph redundant – despite the apparent shortcomings of the new material, Maxïmo Park are still a brilliant live band. Every single track taken from their first two records is a standout, without exception. ‘Limassol’ still burns with righteous, vehement anger, and ‘The Unshockable’ is its partner in crime in intense indie-pop. But the crucial difference is that the old songs really seem to touch a nerve that the new ones haven’t yet reached (for me, at least). The likes of ‘Books From Boxes’ and ‘I Want You To Stay’ come across as genuinely emotive in a way that the band have struggled to match with their new material. Maybe that’s the problem – the new songs feel run-of-the-mill by comparison. Sure, the opportunity to hear the band’s new material played live was welcome, but I couldn’t help but wish to hear a ‘By The Monument’ or ‘Parisian Skies’  instead – never mind the inexplicably omitted ‘Graffiti’. Perhaps it’s just a matter of time, and once the new songs burrow their way into our brains all will be well again…

…oh, who am I kidding – all it takes to make things right is the triumphant three-minute blast of ‘Apply Some Pressure’, the ultimate reminder of the band’s capabilities. The new material might not quite match up to the old (at least, not yet), but to write off Maxïmo Park’s as a live band because of it would be very foolish indeed.

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