Maximo Park's second album blends edgy indieness with radio-friendly pop. Singer Paul Smith talks to Sinéad Gleeson
'IF SOMEONE is looking for a political element in our music, in post-punk terms, they'll be disappointed. But if they're looking for something life-affirming that genuinely challenges people in a mainstream pop context, then our music is right there."
The well-rehearsed response suggests Maximo Park singer Paul Smith has had to tackle the post-punk label more times than he's stood in front of a microphone. The Newcastle five-piece are desperate to avoid media and industry types chasing after them with genre-based giant butterfly nets.
When Maximo Park's debut, A Certain Trigger, appeared in 2005, critics couldn't get the words "Franz Ferdinand" out fast enough. While every band understands the logic behind being bracketed in such a way, it can be frustrating to be name-checked in the same breath as a band you don't sound like or a genre you don't feel part of.
Smith is more Zen about it than most. "We just let it wash over us because this record is an entirely different kettle of fish to some of the bands we've been ballparked with.
"We're not trying to be ironic and detached - these songs are about real life and passion, and a lot of post-punk stuff isn't very emotional. But I consider our songs to be quite heartfelt. The longer we hang around and try and make great records, the less people will be bothered about those comparisons."
With their second album, Our Earthly Pleasures, those "comparisons" should fade like post-gig dry ice. The band started working on it immediately after A Certain Trigger was released. This could have resulted in one album bleeding into another, were it not for the fact that they began working with Gil Norton, one of the UK's best-known producers.
Norton has worked with The Pixies and Foo Fighters, so Maximo Park were an atypical choice. "He was on our dream list of producers and probably took a pay cut to work with us, but it was great to work with someone who is genuinely interested in music."
The band - minnows compared with this legendary producer, feel that both parties learned from the experience. "When we first sat down with Gil, we realised what a lovely guy he is and that he's not just all about The Pixies - he recorded albums we love, like Echo & The Bunnymen's Ocean Rain and The Triffids' Born Sandy Devotional."
Having essentially written nonstop over the past two years, the band had a large pool of songs to draw on. With Norton's help, they whittled it down to 20. Many of them were gigged live, and the band got a good idea of what audiences responded well to.
Unlike the faux-arch lyrics of so many contemporaries, Smith's have a literary quality to them without seeming pretentious. Is it true that he reads newspaper obituaries for inspiration?
"It's true. It's the most interesting bit of the paper, and I've used them for lyrics as a way of getting away from writing personal stuff all the time. I've written about Dusty Springfield's life, Robert Altman and Jean Baudrillard; it's about being inspired by someone else's life. Despite the melancholy nature of a lot of our songs, there's still a really positive current running through them."
In many ways, Maximo Park have the best of both worlds; a home on a cult label (Warp, bastion of experimental and electronic music) and a sound that exudes indie edginess as well as radio-friendly appeal. With album No 2 completed, they've finally relaxed about who they are and what their musical output should be.
"No matter how heavy our influences," says Smith, "we have a pop sensibility that tends to shine through whether we like it or not. Even if we reference Sonic Youth or The Smashing Pumpkins, we're always going to sound like Maximo Park in one respect." And that's no bad thing.
See/Hear:Hear the new album on www.nme.com/ srtists/maximo-park/media/503 or the new single at myspace.com/maximopark.
Our Earthly Pleasures is released next week. Maximo Park play a one-off free gig at Dublin's Temple Bar Music Centre on May 21st as part of Bud Rising
