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Ever since their inception, few bands have enjoyed as swift and meteoric a rise to the top as Maximo Park. In 2005, their Paul Epworth-produced debut A Certain Trigger was released to unanimous acclaim, hitting #15 in the UK album charts and scooping a Mercury Music Prize nomination in the process.
Any other band would find a banner year like that a hard act to follow; but in 2007 they outdid even themselves, with their second album Our Earthly Pleasures rocketing to #2 in the UK album charts and the lead single Our Velocity ending up a bona fide classic and top 10 smash. Their particular brand of art rock – jagged yet melodic, punky yet pop, intelligent yet wildly infectious – captured the hearts and minds of people across the globe and the band capped off their last tour with a glorious, sold out Newcastle Arena show for 12,000 people, with their support being none other than the legendary Buzzcocks.
Now, get ready for Maximo Park to up the ante once again. The band have been locked away in Los Angeles with Nick Launay, famed for his production duties on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Talking Heads and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to create a record which pushes the boundaries of the Maximo Park sound, this time adding more “extreme” synthesisers and “dreamier” guitars to produce something far different from anything they’ve ever done before. With the finishing touches just being put on the record, the band are also embarking on a string of sure-to-be-incendiary live performances around the country, their first UK dates since 2007. Support comes from Noisettes and Stricken City (except Newcastle and Glasgow for the latter).
“We’re raring to go, especially since we’ve just crafted a record that’s imbued with the kind of uplifting spirit that Britain’s crying out for in these troubled economic times. Our audience are far from passive, which makes for a unique atmosphere at each show”. Paul Smith
Tickets go on sale Friday 30th January at 10am.
MAY
14 NEWCASTLE – Academy
15 GLASGOW – Academy
16 LIVERPOOL – University
18 SOUTHAMPTON – Guildhall
19 BIRMINGHAM – Academy
20 NOTTINGHAM – Rock City
22 LEEDS – Academy
23 MANCHESTER – Academy
24 NORWICH – UEA
27 LONDON – Brixton Academy
28 BRISTOL – Academy
