The Sigla Blog

“If someone is looking for a political element in our music, in post-punk terms, they’ll be disappointed; but if they’re looking for something life-affirming that genuinely challenges people in a mainstream pop context, then our music is right there.â€? From this articulate and well-observed response during our chat, it’s very clear that Maximo Park singer Paul Smith has had to tackle the post-punk label more times than he’s stood in front of a microphone. Like so many bands, the Newcastle five-piece are desperate to avoid media/industry types running around with giant genre-based butterfly nets.

When their debut A Certain Trigger appeared in 2005, critics couldn’t get the words ‘Franz Ferdinand’ out fast enough. While every band understands the logic behind being bracketed in such a way, it can be frustrating to be name-checked in the same breath as a band you don’t sound like or a genre you don’t feel part of. Smith, an astute, all-round nice guy is more Zen about it than most. “We just let it wash over us because this record is an entirely different kettle of fish to some of the bands we’ve been ballparked with. Fans are intelligent enough to draw their own conclusions even though some people will see you wearing a suit and decide that you must be ‘arty’. We’re not trying to be ironic and detached - these songs are about real life and passion . and a lot of post-punk stuff isn’t very emotional. But I consider our songs to be quite heartfelt. The longer we hang around and try and make great records, the less people will be bothered about those comparisons.â€?

With their second album, Our Earthly Pleasures, those “comparisonsâ€? should fade like post-gig dry ice. The band started working on this album immediately after A Certain Trigger was released and Paul admits “they never really stopped writingâ€?. On paper, this could have meant a danger of one album bleeding into another and the inevitable accusations of being in a rut, where it not for the fact that they started working with one of the UK’s best known producers - Gil Norton.

Responsible for production work with The Pixies and Foo Fighters, Maximo Park are not a typical Norton project and Smith has nothing but praise for him. “He was on our dream list of producers and probably took a pay cut to work with us, but it was great to work with someone who is genuinely interested in music. It was also about putting a full stop on the last record and saying that this album was something of an evolution.â€? They may have been minnows compared to the legendary producer, but the band felt that both parties learned something from the experience. “When we first sat down with him, we realised what a lovely guy he is and that he’s not just all about The Pixies - he recorded albums we love like Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain and The Triffids’ Born Sandy Devotional. Some days we’d pull in opposite directions from each other but there were concessions on both sidesâ€?.

Having essentially written non-stop over the last two years, the band had a large pool of songs to draw on and with Norton’s help, whittled it down to 20 songs. Many of these were gigged live and the band got a good idea of what floated the audience’s boat. Unlike the faux-arch lyrics of many of their contemporaries, Smith’s verbal take on things have a literaryness to them, without seeming pretentious. So upon hearing that Paul is fond of reading newspaper obituaries for inspiration, I didn’t think he’d admit to it.

“No, it’s true! It’s the most interesting bit of the paper and I’ve used them for lyrics as a way of getting away from writing personal stuff all the time. I’ve written about Dusty Springfield’s life, Robert Altman and Jean Baudrilard and it’s about being inspired by someone else’s life. Despite the melancholy nature of a lot of our songs, there’s still a really positive current running through them.â€?

Another positive that has helped distance the band from stereotyping is that they’re signed to that bastion of experimental and electronic music, Warp Records. With no label preconceptions, Paul and co. were able to sidestep the pitfalls of being lumped in with similar acts in the same stable. “Warp is such a historic label and if we’d signed with someone like Domino . a great label . there would have been an expectancy. We knew Warp would have an interesting way of treating us rather than being a TV-orientated ‘Great new single from this band!’ kind of thing.â€?

In many ways, Maximo Park have the best of both worlds; a home on a cult label and a sound that exudes indie edginess as much as radio-friendly appeal. With album number two under their belt, they’ve finally relaxed about who they are and what their musical output should be. As Paul puts it: “No matter how heavy our influences, we have a pop sensibility that tends to shine through whether we like it or not. Even if we reference Sonic Youth or The Smashing Pumpkins, we’re always going to sound like Maximo Park in one respectâ€?. And that’s no bad thing.