Missing Songs [Audio CD] MAXIMO PARK

Never let it be said that Maximo Park is in it for the money. The upstart British band could have easily cashed-in on the big buzz surrounding its spiky debut album, 2005's A Certain Trigger by releasing eight different versions of the disc using its healthy cache of rarities (you know, just like Bloc Party). Instead, the smartly dressed post-punkers have simply stuck all their b-sides/outtakes/demos on this cut-rate CD and opted to get on with their lives. But that doesn't make Missing Songs disposable. Expanding on the angular guitars, fractured dance rhythms and singer/resident comb-over revivalist Paul Smith's literary lyrics, there are moments here that make you want to punch Maximo Park in the face for leaving off their "real" album. "Fear of Falling" is one of those, offering a glimpse at what the Smiths would (hopefully) sound like if they came out in 2004 instead of 1984. The minimalist cover of John Lennon's "Isolation," is another one, reinterpreting the song much like you would expect it to be done by Joy Division. Naturally, there is quite a bit of filler too, but what did you expect? As a companion piece to A Certain Trigger, it's hard to beat. --Aidin Vaziri