published: 8 /
10 /
2015
Label:
Billingham Records
Format: CD
Despite moonlighting with his new band, Paul Smith doesn’t abandon his Maximo Park roots on this excellent new album
Review
Paul Smith is no stranger to extra-curricular activity outside his day job as singer of established indie band Maximo Park, having already released his debut solo album, ‘Margins’, back in October 2010 and a collaborative album in 2014 with Peter Brewis (of Field Music fame) under the title ‘Frozen by Sight’. Tthe previous two albums were, however, both departures from the Maximo Park blueprint, whereas ‘Contradictions’ does have more than a passing nod to Smith’s main band’s later output. This is no bad thing. Smith’s eye for detail within, often obtuse, often witty, lyrics is as beguiling as always - “When we got back to my house I’d forgot to put the duvet back on/ We played the waiting game” from the excellent ‘Fill in the Blanks’ or “Two lovers/Buried like roots in the sand/The firecrackers have died,/The rodent train stopped running.” from ‘Coney Island (4th of July)’ being typical examples.
As previously stated , musically the album’s bedrock is in Maximo Park granite, but there are some subtle twists into 70’s folk rock such as the aforementioned ‘Coney Island (4th July)’ and ‘Reintroducing the Red Kite’. Again, this is no bad thing.
‘I Should Never Know’ with hints of the Cure’s ‘Pictures of You’ is the stunning dream-like centre piece of the album, while the Berlin-inspired ‘People On Sunday’ and the album opener, ‘The Deep End’ are also highlights.
Maximo Park may well be revisiting their now ten year old debut album 'A Certain Trigger' on tour this winter, but in ‘Contradictions’ Smith has shown that his ear for a decent melody and his brain for a sharp lyric are as undiminished and forward thinking as ever. This is more than just a stop-gap between his main band’s albums. It is a bold statement of intent.
Track Listing:-
1
The Deep End
2
Break Me Down
3
Reintroducing the Red Kite
4
Before the Perspiration Falls
5
All the Things You'd Like to Be
6
I Should Never Know
7
The Golden Glint
8
Fill in the Blanks
9
People on Sunday
10
Coney Island (4th of July)
11
The Mezzanine Floor
12
Quick
13
Fluid Identity
Band Links:-
http://www.paulsmithmusic.eu/
https://www.facebook.com/paulsmitheu
https://twitter.com/paulsmithmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IFD
https://instagram.com/thinkinginpictur