There’s something innately depressing about the very notion of a fourth single from a middleweight indie band’s lukewarmly-received second album, a pre-emptive melancholy that Maximo Park’s ‘Karaoke Plays’ unfortunately plays right into the hands of.
The pop muscle and swagger of ‘Our Velocity’ has all but evaporated into the sound of a thousand Sunday afternoons spent thumbing the lyric sheets of assorted mediocre indie bands as a schoolkid.
There’s a certain comfort in that, for sure, and ‘Karaoke Plays’ is likeable enough, but it’s debatable exactly how sorry we should be feeling for Maximo Park – they may have fallen foul of the hype machine this time around, but the bottom line is they’ve made a solid second album commanding sales figures which aren’t exactly worthy of your pity.
Ho hums all round, then.
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I originally thought
that they might be some kind of Wedding Present/Pulp-esque band. But then they just turned out to be bland as hell.
Good album
but unnecessary single. This song is a bit drabalicious.
yeah i thought it was a good if unspectacular album
the first was better, but then again their first is better than a lot of albums
I much prefer the first album
as a whole, but the first 3 tracks of Our Earthly Pleasures are probably the best songs they've made.
Karaoke Plays is just so bland and slow that I can hardly bear listening to it.
Okereke Plays?
.
i'm a huge fan
of the new(est) album. and this single, yeah it's good. i feel with maximo park each individual track could be a single.
don'tcare much for this song
OEP was the most disappointing album of the year for me and this single encapsulates everything I don't like about the album. It's dreary and dull. It's a rant about not being home, presumably because of their touring. it's overly wordy and disjointed. I find the choruses on this album have very little to do with the tracks they are attached. it's a frustrating listen.
Above average album
But not as good as A Certain Trigger. And this is the worst song on the album. Why not release Nosebleed or something?