Maximo Park review – Newcastle band play hard from their furious debut album | Pop and rock

TRelby prepares to dance with his suit pulled up, Paul Smith leaps from a drum riser with a scissor kick, and for just one moment, as the singer dangles in the air, he could be a cover of A Certain Player – the album being celebrated in Glasgow tonight.

Debut for Maxïmo Park at the age of 21. Has he reached the age of majority? Not exactly. It sounds like a lot for its time, all raspy riffs and angry howls. However, the Newcastle band play these songs with full force. They look better now than they did then.

Smith explains that they will not be performing the album in its entirety and in order. They will throw in tracks from other records. “But you will probably hear 97% of it,” he asserts.

In the absence of a pie chart, let’s just say the selection was well judged. The inclusion of recent single favorites feels obvious. Smith sings the opening lyrics – “The best years of my life are behind me” – with his finger in the air, then pats his chest in gentle defiance: “But I’m damned if I give up.”

Anniversary shows often carry this unspoken question: How do you maintain your dignity and present when tickets are sold based on the success of youth? Maxïmo Park achieves this with split-atom energy, a pinch of humor and the kind of chops she develops over years on the road.

Understandably, a lot of attention was paid to Smith’s movements on stage. His pointing style allows him to study Jarvis Cocker. However, it is worth saying that he has become an impressive singer. The hanging note at the end of “I Want You to Stay” is exciting, and it’s nice that they follow it up with versions of you. A tender reflection on fatherhood and absence, it may be their best song.

The rest of the band keeps things humble. Guitarist Duncan Lloyd, a shrugging human being, plays tune after tune as if he has nothing to do with it. Only Jemma Freese, exuberant on the keys, comes close to drawing focus from the frontman.

They end by “disappearing”. One last beat, one last leap of drums. Maximo Park played the percentages and won.