Album Review: Maxïmo Park - The National Health

Maxïmo Park
The National Health
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Initially known as the first guitar-based band signed to legendary electronic label Warp Records, Maxïmo Park was lumped in with a slew of other post-punk/new wave recalling acts like Futureheads, Bloc Party, and Franz Ferdinand. While their debut album A Certain Trigger certainly leaned in that direction, Maxïmo Park has always seemed more aligned with their Britpop fore bearers. It's been this push and pull between these two styles where Maxïmo Park flourishes best, but also their Achilles heel when they tip the line over to one over the other. Second album, the Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen) produced Our Earthly Pleasures, buckled under the heavy, too slick production values. While third album Quicken The Heart, produced by Nick Launey (Nick Cave, Grinderman), went in a more organic, rawer direction which really didn't suit the band whatsoever. New album The National Health finds the band sort of at a crossroads with their sound; returning to Norton and maintaining a slicker sound, the band sounds more energized than their last outing, but still don't really seem to know where to go. The title of the album implies this will be more of a political outing; indeed, title track "The National Health" refers to proposed cuts to the NHS. There is real urgency in the track, singer Paul Smith's vocals racing to keep up with the blistering guitars.



Aside from a couple of other tracks, notably the track "Banileu," which touches on feelings of social unease, The National Health dwells less on the political and more on the emotional. And for a stretch, Maxïmo Park fire on all cylinders with some of their sharpest songs and melodies. "Hips and Lips" finds Smith toning his strong voice down to work with the dense throb of buzzing synths and grinding guitars.



"The Undercurrents" perhaps is the best song Maxïmo Park has written so far, featuring a gorgeous bed of chiming guitars and subtle piano, with Smith's voice richly filling the spaces.



And "Reluctant Love" continues the perfect pop song contest, featuring a velvety smooth melody and jaunty pace.



The album falters on occasion when the tracks get too slick for there own good as on the Coldplay-esque "This Is What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted,"



or where the ideas are just not fleshed out enough like the pop-punk of "Wolf Among Men" and new-wave of "Write This Down."



The National Health makes up for these slips when they keep things simple and moving. Brisk beats, crisp guitars, and quirky keyboards enliven the driving "Until The Earth Would Open,"



and the herky-jerky rhythms and roaring guitars of "Waves of Fear" close things out on a high note.



The National Health does show a band in flux with their sound, testing out different things to see what works best. While this could come across as muddled, thankfully the album is a pretty solid set of tracks with just a few that fall short of the mark. With a little more focus on what works, we will be seeing more from Maxïmo Park in the future.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.