Quicken the Heart
Product ID: 52411436
Product Description Third studio album by the Mercury Prize nominated rock group. The album debuted at #6 on the UK Album Chart and features the single 'The Kids Are Sick Again'. .co.uk Sunderland’s slickest indie sons, Maximo Park--the approximate musical equivalent of slapping an entire tub of hair gel and Smiths t-shirt onto a mannequin and making him dance jerkily to XTC (in a good way)--return with a third album that largely confirms everything you thought you already knew about them and heads off suspicions that their consistency had to run out of steam at some point. So Quicken The Heart is not as bloodshot or hungry as their debut A Certain Trigger nor quite as nimble as its follow up, Our Earthly Pleasures, but it is tight, blunt and effective and lowers their centre of gravity to ensure success. So "The Penultimate Clinch", "Let’s Get Clinica" and "Overland, West Of Suez" swing and rumble with a touch more menace than usual, allowing muck under their fingernails, while the gasping build-up and swelling excitement of "The Kids Are Sick Again" and repetitive agile riffing of "Wraithlike" are immediately recognisable as Maximo Park but with a more assured footing than before--due in no small part to Nick Launay’s (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Talking Heads) brawny production work. Paul Smith’s inimitably enunciated, sharply-dressed lyrics also once again help the band hold its head proudly above the parapet, hoisting formulaic new wave workouts to a place where they have a real identity. --James Berry P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review Spearheaded by the fizzily infectious single Our Velocity, Maximo Park's last album, Our Earthly Pleasures, reached number two in the UK album charts. An impressive, surprising feat for five arch Gang Of Four fans, with one of the few Geordie-accented lead singers in pop history not surnamed Gascoigne or Nail. It appears that the band enjoyed their success: on this third record they stick so closely to their formula that they inevitably fall victim to the law of diminishing returns.As with Our Earthly Pleasures, the lead single is a brash, synth-studded beast of a tune, but because The Kids Are Sick Again lacks a killer chorus it plods where Our Velocity skipped. And on the bulk of these songs, the band fall back on the same clipped guitars, Wire-y basslines, new wave keyboards and juggernaut drumming they've been touting for five years.On the fierce opener, Wraithlike, the novelty is still exciting (and it will work brilliantly live, where the band truly come into their own) but on material like Joy Division retread The Penultimate Clinch or the stubbornly predictable A Cloud Of Mystery they sound like a band going through the motions. Like being repeatedly served pie and chips, these songs are solid enough fare, but hardly a balanced diet.Where the band do experiment a little, they're more interesting. Roller Disco Dreams is broodingly evocative, and its splicing of Cure-esque basslines and the rearing riff from The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army is brutishly effective. And despite its irksome title,'Let's Get Clinical is another welcome change in pace, with its plastic funk guitar, Human League spook synths and dramatic drum breakdowns.Quicken The Heart is by no means a bad record, and the band have probably built up enough of a fanbase and gig-generated good will to ensure they don't suffer the same commercial decline as North East rivals The Futureheads. But if they hope to end up as more than a minor indie footnote in pop history they're going to have to deliver something more exciting and surprising fourth time around. --Jaime Gill Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off in a new window See more
J**Z
expanded edition in cardboard format
very good condition, in a cardboard format; CD+DVD set including original album "Quiquen the Heart", plus a DVD called "Monument" content a 2007 gig including band footage plus two booklets, one with polaroids shoots captured from members group, a second with shoots live concerts and texts
J**S
Good vinyl, great album
Great album, some real classic maximo park songs on good quality vinyl.
M**S
Maximo Park Rock!!
Quicken the Heart is amazing. Maximo Park are incredible. Went to see them live recently and their energy to second to none. I never write reviews but am compelled to where they are concerned. All of their albums are brilliant - not least the new Too Much Information. I am unable to stop playing their music and have realised I may just be one of their biggest fans - a big thank you to may 17 year old son getting me in to them..
D**N
Three Stars
Not their best, but good.
B**A
Maximo pleasure
If you like Maximo you will enjoy this album
J**Z
Four Stars
Ok
A**G
not as good as I'd hoped :(
The 3rd official offering from Maximo Park was not as good as I'd hoped. There are a couple of catchy songs, but nothing approaching the brilliance of Our Velocity, Apply Some Pressure, Girls who play guitars etc.It's ok.I hope the next album lives up to the reputation of the previous 2.
I**T
Fans must buy
Not their finest, but still a worthwhile purchase for a maximo park fan
N**X
Buen disco
No siendo su disco más "redondo", en mi opinión, el sonido de este grupo me sigue gustando. Su siguiente album "the national health" es bastante mejor.
A**E
whaooooooou
esprit rock, mélodies accrocheuses, alternance de chansons qui déchirent et d'autres plus douces...aucun titre à jeter dans cet album (chose rare de nos jours)! on se surprendrait presque à jouer de la air guitar ou à sauter devant sa chaine hifi ;-) maximo park est excellent à voir en concert. chanteur (paul smith), très charismatique et énergique, avec une sacrée présence sur scène. belle voix chaude, qu'il maîtrise même quand il saute et se démène sur scène. à acheter d'urgence!!!
P**R
Best of Maximo Park
Pour suivre une logique de commentaires sur l'activité et l'actualité discographique du renouvellement de la pop anglo-saxonne,nous nous focaliserons donc ,apres The RAKES et ART BRUT (voir mes commentaires sur leurs dernieres productions),sur le cas MAXIMO PARK et leur 3eme album Quicken the heart..Tout ce que l'on peut dire, c'est que des 3 groupes précités ,Quicken the Heart ,est l'album le plus abordable ,le moins brouillon enchainant les tubes les uns derrière les autres...Les "Wraithlike" ,"The kids are sick again" et le superbe "Roller disco dreams" viennent rejoindre la panoplie de tubes déjà rencontrés sur les précédents LP du groupe que furent "Apply some pressure","Parisian skies",ou "Graffiti" entre autres...Façonné de la meme manière que le second album des RAKES ,cet album "drague" son auditoire .Alors que les RAKES foncent dans le mur et choisissent "Le coté obscur" ,Maximo Park ecarte toute prise de risque avec cet album plaisant qui se decouvre un peu trop vite et qui sur la longueur n'aura peut-etre plus grand mystère a dévoiler...Quoi qu'il en soit la bande a Paul SMITH rentre dans la cour des grandes formations pop-rock sur qui il faudra compter pour ceux qui croient encore qu'il y a un apres The CURE ,un après STRANGLERS et un après SMITHS et un après.....
P**O
"Das Auge hört mit " ;-)
Eigentlich eine tolle CD ! Ich habe mich auch riesig drauf gefreut, aber mal ehrlich, hätten sich die Herren nicht mehr Mühe mit der Cover-gestaltung machen können !?
Q**V
Excellent album
I first got introduced to Maximo Park while watching a Glastonbury Festival from 2007 on a music channel, and I pretty much fell in love with them instantly. I picked up their first EP as my proper introduction to them and loved it. So I thought I would take a chance and buy their newest release - and I am SO glad I did. I love this album!It is hard to describe their sound and do it any justice, but I will try my best : to me, it is something like a mashup of the best of The Smiths, The Cure, DePeche Mode and Ned's Atomic Dustbin - and yet it is not any of those things. To me, they sound like awesome 80's alternative, but in their own way : very melodic, smart lyrics, good to dance to, and just all around great listening.Now, my only question is - when are these guys coming to the States?!?! I would love to see them in concert. But until that time comes, I will play the heck out of this CD, because it's fantastic.
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