Your reviewer had the dubious pleasure of pouring cold water all over "Apply Some Pressure" the first time round earlier this year, and separated by a good nine months or so he's still grubbing around in his chest freezer for more ice to melt down.
I mean, you can't argue with the fact Maximo Park have had a meteoric twelve months. When we covered their Metro Club gig in London back in the January wilderness, pretty much no sod knew who they were, and they've since proved themselves adept at playing the loveable, art-rock indie weirdos who aren't afraid to win through with their hard-grafting northern grit and milk their NME coverage for all its' worth. Hell, in both "Graffiti" and especially "Going Missing" they've even released singles that have temporarily had this hack thinking of backtracking with his opinions.
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But "Apply Some Pressure" (slight return) merely reminds me why I thought they were Futureheads-lite to begin with, and nine months on it still amounts to little more than the sum of its' parts once again. Maybe it's simply an overkill of angularity at this stage (it's been bloody difficult to avoid variations on this theme for almost 2 years now after all) but I think if I hear more gear along this line just now I may well not be responsible for my actions.
"You know that I would love to see you next year," gushes a boggle-eyed Paul Smith. Believe me, mate, the feeling will only be mutual if you come up with some new sonic tricks damn quick.
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