Maximo Park: 'Karaoke Plays'

Much like their Northerly counterparts The Futureheads, Maximo Park have gone about the business of making an accomplished, tune-packed sophomore album and been granted none of the exposure and compliments with which their more lacklustre and scattershot debut was lauded. Paul Smith's hat, literary lyrics and po-faced attitude have come under attack from fair-weather music critics who find it tough to like a band for longer than two weeks, without hopping on a nu-bandwagon.

'Karaoke Plays' is the fourth single off Our Earthly Pleasures, which perhaps shows the strength of the band's material; because for many this would be a sure-fire first single. It's not the spiked guitars of 'Apply Some Pressure' or 'Our Velocity' that hook you on this track, as they are replaced by a more considered and mournful selection of keys and despairing vocals. Smith captures the emotional turmoil of anyone who's had to split up a long-term relationship with his blunt, Morrissey-esque Northern twang. It's Christmas time so it's bound to bomb into the Top 40 beneath a pile of novelty pap, singing soap stars and reality TV excrement, which is a great shame because this track deserves so much more.