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Our Earthly Pleasures
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 25 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Warp
Release Date: 08 May 2007
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Gil Norton produced this second album for the Paul Smith-fronted UK rock outfit, who debuted in 2005 with the Mercury Music Prize-nominated 'A Certain Trigger.'
Also By This Artist: A Certain Trigger Quicken The Heart
Also On The Web: Maximo Park @ MySpace Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Sputnikmusic
Our Earthly Pleasures, in contrast to the water-tight radio punk of its predecessor, overflows with ideas, even if it’s to the detriment of the material.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
Maxïmo Park haven't just avoided the sophomore slump, they've made a follow-up that suggests that those who threw their lot in with the band instead of, say, the Futureheads made the right choice. Almost as exciting as the music on Our Earthly Pleasures is the potential.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
On the whole, Our Earthly Pleasures is a sprightly, winsome record, even if, in second-album terms, it's more Pretenders II than The Bends.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
It doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s not a retread. It’s just good, for you and your soul.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
The rest of the band haven't progressed quite as speedily as their frontman - although they've added some welcome Johnny Marr-type guitar flourishes - and remain perplexed by anything at less than breakneck speed.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Repeated listens--it's a grower--reveal a number of meatier, surprisingly hard-rocking songs. [May 2007, p.99]
Rolling Stone
The U.K. indie band’s second album has beefed-up sound and increasingly brilliant, not-at-all-pretentious gems like "Girls Who Play Guitars," "Russian Literature" and "Karaoke Plays."
Read Full Review >Billboard
Maximo Park... safely explore new territory without being too obvious. [12 May 2007]
Pitchfork
With their new album, Maxïmo Park avoid both utter disaster and absolute success by playing it safe. Nice and safe.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Despite its flaws, Our Earthly Pleasures is a good record of mostly up-tempo UK indie rock.
Read Full Review >No Ripcord
It’s an engaging listen, sure, but sadly Our Earthly Pleasures lacks the euphoric punch to make a listener jump up and down vigourously.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Ultimately, Maximo Park have bravely taken a chance with this album, trying to experiment with their sound rather than settling for what had previously brought them success. Shame they weren't up to the task.
Read Full Review >Hot Press
It’s too early to write Maxïmo Park off, or to turf them into the ever-growing pile of indie also-rans. But they’ll need to pull out all the stops to recover their poise after this worrying misstep.
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
An album which makes you feel like Maxïmo are parked when they should be in the fast lane.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
Simplicity is king, as a relentlessly jaunty onslaught of jangle-pop hurtles ever onwards. [May 2007, p.96]
Q Magazine
Yet, for all the dumbing down, they have much going for them. [May 2007, p.122]
Spin
Even with the occasional middling moments, it's hard to deny the band's clever, boisterous spirit. [May 2007, p.86]
Alternative Press
Pleasant but edgeless. [Jun 2007, p.149]
Under The Radar
The sound’s a bit harsher, more abrasive this time around; the songs blur by with melodies that seem half-baked; and the mood’s shifted from wistful self-deprecation to paranoia. [#17, p.86]
cokemachineglow
[Producer] Gil Norton... [has] an enviable track record, but he’s not doing Maxïmo Park any favours with this soft soak finish.
Read Full Review >Mojo
The tunes dry up alarmingly. [Jun 2007, p.108]
Playlouder
This air of superiority is pervasive on 'Our Earthly Pleasures', which is a pity when you consider contemporaries such as Franz Ferdinand can do clever without it getting in the way of the fact all they're really doing is making good pop records.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
phil g gave it a10:
as sharif said, initially a little disappointing, but what lies beneath the sheen of the unknown is a fantastic album, as full of ideas and pop hooks as the first, and eventualy you will come to see the album as what it is, flawless.
wisdom p. gave it a10:
CD is OK. Books from Boxes is an amazing song...realy
Bob B. gave it an8:
It's a good album.
Martin S. gave it a10:
Maximo's new CD isn't immediate?? The first three tracks alone are worth the price. In fact, all of the songs are well crafted, intelligent slices of pop rock. The CD's diversity is quite impressive, and Duncan LLoyd is a great guitar player. Give "Our Earthly Pleasures" a chance. Maximo rules ok!!
Mac gave it a10:
I agree with Sharif, the reviews are very strange. The lyrics on this cd are very impressive, where every song is about a certain 'pleasure' , going with the theme of the whole album. This album is a great second shot for Maximo Park and it should not be overlooked as a mediocre attempt from another annoying english band. This is a very good cd. Get it soon. The lyrics at first mean so little, but as a whole so much.
Jellogibby gave it a7:
The album starts great with some classic tunes, but it gets a bit too clean in the second half. Too many songs with lack of sharpness. A solid record, but they fail to exceed their brilliant debut.
Micky J gave it a9:
Are you kidding? This album is genius. A huge step forward on their debut, which was praised beyond it's real charms, this has been on my mp3 player continuously, and remains an early favourite from 2007 - probably the best mainstream uk release this year, anyway.
