Maximo Park: 'The Kids Are Sick Again'

Of all the Britpack bands of the early '00s, Maximo Park are without doubt the most undersold. While Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand were busy storming the charts - and The Futureheads and Bloc Party got critics frothing with hyperbole - Paul Smith's clan went about their angular guitar business with very little fanfare. Normally we'd applaud the group's anti-showbiz approach, but with record label bosses tightening their belts, it could be make-or-break time for Maximo on album number three.

"The comforting ache of the summer holidays," pines Smith at the opening of this comeback single, reminding us immediately of those comparisons with fellow indie-geek poets Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker. A tale of escapism, adolescence and bleak suburban life, 'Sick Again' hints at a darker lyrical direction for the band's upcoming Quicken The Heart album. Lacking the fizz and punch of the group's bigger hits ('Our Velocity', 'Apply Some Pressure'), its fuzzy smog of keys and drums gently woos the listener rather than walloping them in the face. It's unlikely to break new fans or provide a first top five hit, but it adds to the intrigue about the "funny grooves" Maximo have promised on their new disc.


> Click here to watch the 'Sick Again' video