This week English alternative rock stalwarts Maxïmo Park release their eighth studio album Stream of Life via Lower Third Records. Despite logging 20 years in the industry and an impressive eight album discography, Maxïmo Park have crafted a release still brimming with energy. Rooted firmly in the sounds of the late ’90s and early 2000s, Maxïmo are a band not stuck in the past but rather inspired by it, clearly okay to buck a trend and keep in sight what makes them great to begin with.
Recording in Atlanta, Georgia, with producer Ben Allen, the band made a pilgrimage to Athens, where their influences—R.E.M., Pylon, and The B-52’s— all kicked off. It’s safe to say that some of Athens made its way back into Stream of Life. The accidental nostalgic edge isn’t some reunion tour ploy, but a by-product of surrounded influences and a band whose best works live in that space. Inside the 11 track LP is a band in their element: intelligent, classy indie pop rock.
Track by Track: Stream of Life
“Your Own Worst Enemy”
As the opening guitars rip into “Your Own Worst Enemy,” the octave-heavy throwback riff might convince you you’ve swapped Spotify for a pick from a sun-visor CD holder. It’s an immediate mood-setter, and a great opener. With tight and concise lyrics, the band’s thick rock sound is present but never overpowering, allowing Paul Smith’s vocals to shine through. Despite “that horrible feeling” Smith sings about in the chorus, I’ve got only good ones.
“Favourite Song”
“‘My best years are behind me, but I’ll be damned if I’m giving up” are the frank, tongue in cheek lyrics that open the next track “Favourite Song”. The almost ska-like guitar riff propels the track into one of the more soaring and catchy tunes on the album.
Of note is the chorus that declares “Tell me your favourite songs, And I’ll tell you mine and we’ll sing along, And all of our troubles will fade away”. It’s a great reminder to anyone that’s belted a song out in the car with a good friend in a bad time just how powerful music and friendship can be, if even momentarily.
“Dormant ‘Til Explosion” (Feat. Vanessa Briscoe Hay)”
Third on the track list is “Dormant ‘Til Explosion”, a super fun, booming bass driven track. This one features Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Athens band, Pylon. Her voice is so completely removed from the soft-rock elements of Smith, that the traded moments in the second verse, reminiscent of a Meatloaf-styled duet, is playful and fun. The mixture of accents and theatrical flair is worth the price of admission.
“The End Can Be As Good As The Start”
“The End Can Be As Good As The Start” is a bit of a shift in song writing philosophy and sonic delivery, serving up something a little softer. It’s hard to call this one a love song. On the surface the opener “In the gallery, you said marry me” and chorus lines “Did you find yourself in me? ‘Cause I found myself in you” suggest as much.
The idealism disappears a little on lines like “I will be the first one to depart if the end is not as good as the start” however. Which makes it more of a ballad with a knife behind its back.
“Armchair View”
If the former track was a sonic detour, “Armchair View” is a U-Turn. Easily one of the finest tracks right at the mid-point, the sombre, low-key vibes from the finger picked guitar, subtle piano and crooning vocals is an excellent shift.
The song itself is a bit of an indictment on those that judge without knowledge. Lines like ‘Who am I to define what I can’t see?’ and “it’s so easy from a hindsight view” offer a straight line to the songs premise while it swims in an angelic swell to its closure.
“Quiz Show Clue”
The next track kicks in with a face scrunching 50’s rockabilly guitar riff introducing us to ‘Quiz Show Clue’. As the chorus hits, that riff melts away completely. Replacing it is a dreamy, shimmering, beautifully jangly guitar chorus. Taking that beautiful sonic soundscape and contorting it, the band muse “I don’t exist, and nor do you, we’re just a footnote now, a quiz show clue.”
“Stream Of Life”
Next up is the title track “Stream Of Life”. Inspired by the experimental novel Água Viva by Ukrainian-born Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, the English translation is “Stream of Life”.
The song is something rather melancholic. It’s full of contemplations and themes of seeking, achieving and the push and pull that comes with being unsatisfied with what you find. The rather heavy philosophic nature is hidden away in an otherwise dreamy soundscape that the band establish so well.
Despite that, the lyrics “When you get the thing you want, but it’s not the thing you need, you disrupt the stream of life, and the restlessness impedes” acts like a finger snap out of the hypnosis. The double-edged sword of achievement often cuts sharp.
“Doppelgänger Eyes” + “I Knew That You’d Say That” + “The Path I Chose”
“Doppelgänger Eyes” has a great guitar intro riff and some welcome synth moments throughout. The song feels like a bit more of the same but lacks the perfect mixture of earlier tracks. By no means a bad track, but it’s impacted by the comparison to earlier belters.
This is the same for the more off the wall “I Knew That You’d Say That”, though the attitude and pointed fingers in lines like “Yes I knew, clever you. What’s it like to be blessed with such foresight?” is a standout in the backend of the album. Equally true is the radical guitar stuttering approach to the end in “The Path I Chose” which features some super fun retro rock moments.
“No Such Thing As A Society”
Despite the album being made in the United States, the band round out the album with a tune deeply rooted in their homeland of England. “No Such Thing As A Society” takes the quote from Margaret Thatcher and turns it into a socially upbeat. lyrically moody final track.
An excellent ending tune, the band dissect the political assumptions of individualism and every man for himself nature that of that time period, and maybe questions if it’s ever changed. It’s a bleak tune but a thoughtful one to close on.
Final Thoughts
Maxïmo Park’s Stream of Life is an oxymoron of fresh nostalgia and high-art pop rock goodness. The trio of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums) have a proven knack for delivering something equally catchy while subliminally profound. It’s enjoyable on the surface, and a joy to dig into deeper. The thematic exploration of time and mortality feel present here, wrapped up in an indefinable mixture of pop/post-punk, pop rock genre minutiae that could send purists into a tizzy.
Ultimately, its a wonderful band driven record with only a few minor slumps in the back end. The creativity and charm in the other tracks more than makes up for this though, so if you’re wanting to sail away into some heavy hearted, read trip ready, tour ready bops: take dip in the “Stream of Life”.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Stream of Life is out now. Grab it HERE
