Argh those first four notes on Going Missing make me feel about 18 again 
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Always thought it was weird that they were on Warp Records.
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had some good tunes didnât they
say what you like about landfill indie but at least the bands then had tunes
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Anyone know what record label they were on?
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V2. Or Hut, maybe.
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Ah, itâs interesting this one, because MP are a guitar based band and this label more often signs electronic acts. Think it is Ninja Tune.
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Liked them when they came out, but like everything else from that era that was essentially four or five blokes with guitars doing the âanthemic indieâ thing, it sounds pretty bad now whenever itâs on the radio or whatever.
I have to be quite unsentimental about music I liked around that time on account of lots of it being shit. I will however abstain from voting as I didnât realise they had that many albums and havenât heard them.
Youâve clearly made up 5 of these albums.
Enjoyed the first album and seem to remember the second being decent as well - admittedly not listened to either for years.
Think itâs probably going to be a 2 for me.
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Nope
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Quite a high likelihood one of the parks are reading this thread isnât there. Hello if so.
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I hope its Ji Sung.
Often overlooked but always a key figure to call upon by Fergie in the big games.
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Yep, the two albums they did with Gil Norton (Our Earthly Pleasures and National Health) are probably my favourites alongside the debut - he gave them a little bit more punch even if less weird stuff stood out from the mix.
Obviously their debut is a classic too, and the most recent one Nature Always Wins is better than theyâve been for a good few years.
Would assume baldness, he rocked a severe combover touring the first album
I wonder if it did for them releasing their worst record (the third one) when they were at what turned out to be their commercial peakâŠbut, looking back, maybe it was curtains for most of those bands post-2008 in terms of chart success.
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Iâd recommend The National Health and Nature Always Wins from their later career!
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Bit of a sobering thought that. Iâd never say anything negative about a band ever again if I thought they might read it. My tepid, half-arsed takes simply arenât worth it.
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Love them to death. Paul Smith is my favourite vocalist ever. Also, The National Health is outstanding and deserves as much love as A Certain Trigger. Quicken the Heart is pretty special too - over the years Iâve come to love it more than Our Earthly Pleasures.
10/5
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Biggest 5 in the world for me, and they might just be my favourite band of all time. Certainly Our Earthly Pleasures is my favourite album.
They came to me at just the right time (I was still a kid floundering from the Busted breakup, and none of my friend or family were the type to introduce me to cool music) and I donât think music would be as big a part of my life now if it werenât for the Park. I feel lucky to have gone into HMV one day with the aim of picking up a Green Day record, but for some reason leaving with a deluxe edition of Quicken The Heart. I fell in love, and in hindsight that turned out to be their worst album!
The first post-pandemic gig I went to was a show late last year where they played Our Earthly Pleasures in full, and it was unforgettable. Never thought theyâd do it, as the cultural and critical impact wasnât the same as their debut (obviously still a great record, and I could see people preferring it if they were more into the rawer, spiky side of the bandâs output). That album is primarily a break-up record, but during the âindie landfillâ scene which championed some pretty misogynistic ideas in hindsight, it was so refreshing to hear a mature lyrical perspective, not blaming the other person but outlining a subtle car crash of miscommunication and misalignment of needs. And thatâs before I even touch on an amazing rhythm section, some lovely Smiths-ish guitars and chord progressions, and burbling, manic keyboard grooves that just about explained their place on Warpâs label roster.
Lyrics have never resonated more with me than Paul Smithâs (along with his passionate delivery), even though they flit between poetic and ridiculously literal. Donât want to start quoting them because Iâd be here all day, but howâs âNight falls and towns become circuit boardsâ for a vivid opening line? And, given all the âdonât meet your heroesâ stories out there, I feel really lucky that he came across as a thoroughly decent bloke when I cornered him fanatically at the merch stall of one of his solo gigs. And of course heâs vocally opposed to the Tories and the broader cultural isolationism theyâre ushering in, itâs only sensible.
Can see why theyâd come across as a bit MOR to other people, but not for me Clive. Sorry for the wall of text!
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Also worth saying they inadvertently got me into the Yeah Yeah Yeahâs. There was a review (here? Pitchfork?) of the first YYYs record that compared Maps to Maximo Parkâs Acrobat. I loved Acrobat so hard that it was sufficient for me to order the YYYs on import from America, and loved it.
Gave Acrobat a spin just now. Never sure how those spoken word bits would hold up over time, but itâs still a cracking song.
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Itâs a gorgeous song.
Loved first two albums but havenât listened to them for years, they were great live.
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