Flashback Friday.. Maximo Park - 'Apply Some Pressure'

Last night I went on a night out to see some friends and, as per usual, we ended up in Planet - a rock/metal nightclub for those of you who don't have the (dis)pleasure of living in Wolves.

I remember three things.

1. My friend going to the toilet and mysteriously disappearing into the abyss of space and time.
2. The DJ playing a really strange alternate version of The Smiths 'This Charming Man', which I now can't find.
3. This song being played for the first time in an age and my re-realising of what a belter it is!

Maximo Park are one of those bands that are capable of producing some really fantastic songs, yet still manage to pass under the radar of being memorable. Especially, it seems, in recent years, as I can account for myself not investing time and effort into their music since their second album, 2007's Our Earthly Pleasures (I'm beaming 'Listen. Now' into your subconsciousness!), and their following albums, Quicken the Heart and The National Health passed me by completely (cue a task for later!), but odds are that, whether you realise it or not, you probably (really) know the ins and outs of at least one Maximo Park song.

Which, in regards to that, is most likely this one, seeing as 'Apply Some Pressure' is probably the most known of Maximo Park's songs back in their heyday, as it pretty much encapsulates all that puts Maximo Park in the higher tier of 00's popular indie bands. The song is catchy and punchy, the lyrics - witty and confessional, and it becomes apparent in some of Maximo Park's other songs that singer and lyricist, Paul Smith is an intelligent poet.

Maximo Park are currently on a European tour, to support The National Health, before coming back to the UK and then jetting off to Australia!

http://maximopark.com/

http://www.facebook.com/maximopark

https://twitter.com/maximopark
http://soundcloud.com/maximo-park-1

Flashback Friday's.. Alexisonfire - 'Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama!'

Slightly late today ladies and gents, but I have FANTASTIC news (for me at least anyway!) because, after approximately 8 or 9 years of loving and wishing, my wish has come true! I.. am going to see.........

ALEXISONFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :'D :'D :'D :'D ajfkepgkfnpesnbgv-gewanaffangoebgikuaesgve a!!!!

I can't express how happy I am at all! This bands means so much to me and they've been my favourite band for so long! This was really perhaps the first band that made me make the transition into more mature 'rock' music, moving away from bands such as Lostprophets etc and into post-hardcore.

Alexisonfire are a very diverse band, easily shifting between being melodic yet edgy and downright aggressive punk. What also makes them unique is their effective use of not 1, not 2, but 3 (!?) vocalists! In theory, it should be a mess, but it works so well because each of the vocalists specialise in a certain vocal range; George Pettit shrieks and screeches his tirade, Dallas Green smooth, pitch perfect voice, with Wade MacNeil straddling the fence in between with his rumbling punky undertones!

The band announced that they were to split last year, after Green decided to devote himself full time to his folk side project, City and Colour, whilst MacNeil was named the new Gallows frontman following the departure of Frank Carter, but that's another story! At the time, I was so distraught that I'd missed the opportunity to see them play during their previous run of the UK (their visiting Nottingham seemed too far away at the time, despite the fact that I'm now willing to travel to London!), so I'm ecstatic that my friend managed to get us tickets this time :D

Back to the song - this is 'Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama!', taken from their second album, Watch Out!, perhaps their most experimental release, and my personal favourite! It was the first song that I heard by them and will always be amongst my favourites, perhaps just being on the subject matter of Go-Karting! If you like this, go check all their albums; if you're not so keen on one, you may be on another, as the sounds shifts a little through the time periods. Their last release, Dog's Blood EP, was easily their heaviest stuff to date and they went out with a bang!

Alexisonfire are playing London's Brixton Academy on Mon 3rd December (sold out) and added Sun 2nd December due to demand !

Grab 'em whilst you can!

http://theonlybandever.com/presale/
http://www.facebook.com/AOFofficial