Album Review: Maximo Park - 'Nature Always Wins'

Indie veterans Maximo Park are back again and are proving to be as cutting and as relevant as ever with their seventh album ‘Nature Always Wins’. 

This North East trio really took the world by storm with their critically acclaimed debut LP ‘A Certain Trigger’, now 16 years on, this band have gone through more than some in the last few years. The band have endured tragedy and everything in between, which makes up a large part of their first album release in four years and contributes to what might be their best body of work in years. 

Anticipation levels were set pretty high with early singles such as ‘Baby Sleep’ proving to be a breath of fresh air of a classic and intricate indie sound. Tracks such as ‘Baby Sleep’s is where we see frontman Paul Smith at his most open as he toys with the overarching debate of nature vs nurture and the personal part that he plays in that conversation with topics ranging from being a father for the first time right through to the Grenfell tragedy. 

This debate builds a strong arc right throughout the 12 tracks, with each offering something different to the last or reminiscent of the Maximo Park that had come before. Ardour’ proves to be a throwback to ‘A Certain Trigger’ times and ‘Children of the Flatlands’ once again showcases what the band do best in drawing inspiration from the Northern powerhouse that raised them.  

It is very rare that a band with such history and experience in the industry can time and time again reinvent themselves and their sound, with ‘Nature Always Wins’ Maximo Park have gone well beyond that to plant themselves right in the consciousness and produce one of the year’s best albums so far and one of their best ever pieces of work. 

‘Nature Always Wins’ is available now on all major streaming platforms and Maximo Park will celebrate their seventh album with a livestream from Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne on March 6th 2021.

Words by Danial Kennedy

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