Maxïmo Park preview latest LP 'Too Much Information' live
Published
A special up close and personal performance from Tyneside’s finest for a handful of very very lucky fans.
Maxïmo Park's fifth, complex and intriguing (read our review
here), largely lauded as a career best, album
Too Much Information was released on Monday 3
rd and complemented by a intimate and insanely sweaty gig at East London's Sebright Arms, a tiny pub hidden away with a ceiling so low Paul Smith’s trademark star jumps would need a break tonight. This one off event is billed as an album launch and Maxïmo Park could easily just have just chosen to play the latest album in its entirety, but fans were instead treated to a 20 song strong setlist that included new songs and old favourites. They are now in the position to pick and choose the highlights of their ten plus years; this included such gems as
Our Velocity, Limassol, Graffiti, Girls Who Play Guitars, the devastating poetic
Books for Boxes, the frenetic
Apply Some Pressure and the eternally wonderful
Going Missing. Songs from the latest album included the punchy,
Give, Get, Take, the electro synthy disco tinged
Brain Cells, “number one in uncle Bulgaria” the smouldering
Leave this Island, the literary inspired
Lydia and
Her Name Was Audre and the double whammy of the anthemic and impassioned
Midnight on the Hill and
Where We’re Going. These new songs were eagerly received, a testament to their quality is that they sit alongside the older tracks with ease. Some bands do it, some don't and some excel, banter can sometimes make a gig. Paul Smith, looking resplendent in his namesake suit and bowler, his natural charm and evanescent energy shines throughout the entire performance, whether it's telling tales, gesticulating the lyrics, debating on the eternal encore or no encore discussion or generally jumping around, it's infectious and captivating.
The only slight disappointment of the night was that there were no tracks off their third album,
Quicken the Heart, considering the inclusion of three songs from
The National Health (perhaps the weakest of their releases) it was a minor moment in what was a perfectly curated and performed night. They are currently on a full UK tour to promote the magnificent
Too Much Information, highly recommended you catch them where tickets are still available.
http://maximopark.com/
