May 2005

Newcastle’s brightest hope, Maximo Park, finally release their debut album ‘A Certain Trigger’, following two smash hit singles and an insurmountable heap of press adoration. From the infectiously catchy ‘Apply Some Pressure’ to the jerky passion of ‘Graffiti’ and the anthemic and immense ‘Going Missing’, ‘A Certain Trigger’ is by turns romantic, edgy, powerful and energetic. Adding to the fray the sing-along bitter rant of ‘Limassol’ and the poetic majesty of ’Acrobat’ and this album is, in short, solid gold - packed full of classic indie-pop hits, with Paul Smith’s unique voice and emotionally open lyrics at the heart of the album, with the band’s often joyous pursuit of pop structures with an angular slant adding the right amount of sustainable interest.

• Mojo (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]he Geordie five-piece's inspired and eccentric debut deserves to catapult them well ahead of their Scottish peers..."
  
  Uncut (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]here's a romantic soul at play. Frontman Paul Smith loves the dejections of the north as much as role model Jarvis Cocker."
• NME - "...an immediate classic."

Geordie new-wave revivalists Maximo Park's debut album was produced by Paul Epworth, and is record label Warp's first foray into rock-based music. Capturing the band's live energy withough losing its melodic edge, 'A Certain Trigger' is a high-tempo update of the music of The Smiths and XTC. Features the singles 'The Coast Is Always Changing', 'Apply Some Pressure' and 'Graffiti'.

Maximo Park: Paul Smith (vocals); Duncan Lloyd (guitars); Lukas Wooller (keyboards); Archis Tiku (bass guitar); Tom English (drums).
Recording information: Eastcote Studios, London, England (2004); 2Khz, London, England (2004).
Released in mid-2005, Maximo Park's A CERTAIN TRIGGER missed the initial round of the New Wave revival sparked by the runaway success of Franz Ferdinand's debut. Although it would be easy to dismiss Maximo Park as merely an act late to the party, the English ensemble filters its post-punk influences inventively, utilizing the style as a loose blueprint rather than a rigid template. Though Maximo Park signed to the renowned electronica label Warp, musically, the band is often aligned with the energetic, guitar-heavy attack of the Futureheads. Lyrically, however, the group is less playful and more sullen, making its closest contemporaries the emotive quartet Bloc Party. While a few tracks here immediately jump out (most notably the incredibly catchy "Apply Some Pressure" and the gloriously chiming "Postcard of a Painting"), the entire album is remarkably consistent, and reveals its subtleties upon repeated listens. Even those jaded by the early-2000s neo-New Wave onslaught should be pleasantly surprised by A CERTAIN TRIGGER.

Led by hyperactive frontman Paul Smith, Maximo Park emerged from the fertile indie scene of North Eastern England--alongside the Futureheads, and Field Music--with 2005's A CERTAIN TRIGGER, released on the usually dance-oriented label Warp. A confident, enjoyable mix of the more jagged strains of current and classic British pop, Maximo Park proved one of 2005's breakthrough bands on both sides of the pond, and followed up on that success in 2007 with their follow-up effort, OUR EARTHLY PLEASURES.