Newcastle's angular pop quintet Maximo Park consists of singer Paul Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd, ba**ist Archie Tiku, keyboardist Lukas Wooller, and drummer Tom English. Like their friends and neighbors the Futureheads, Maximo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like the Jam, XTC, Wire, and the Smiths. Maximo Park issued their debut 7", The Coast Is Always Changing/The Night I Lost My Head, in 2004; it caught the ears of Warp Records, ... Show more...

Newcastle's angular pop quintet Maximo Park consists of singer Paul Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd, ba**ist Archie Tiku, keyboardist Lukas Wooller, and drummer Tom English. Like their friends and neighbors the Futureheads, Maximo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like the Jam, XTC, Wire, and the Smiths. Maximo Park issued their debut 7", The Coast Is Always Changing/The Night I Lost My Head, in 2004; it caught the ears of Warp Records, who despite being a mostly electronic label, signed them and released their second single, "Apply Some Pressure," early in 2005, it made the Top 20 in the U.K.'s national charts. At that time, Warp also released the Apply Some Pressure EP, which featured tracks from both of the band's singles, in the U.S. br /br /Maximo Park also finished recording their debut album with producer Paul Epworth (who also worked with Bloc Party and Baby Shambles) that winter, and spent the spring touring the U.K., Japan, and the U.S., making an appearance at South by Southwest. The "Graffiti" single heralded the arrival of the band's full-length debut, A Certain Trigger, late that spring. More tours of the U.S. and U.K., including gigs at Glastonbury and Reading, kept the band busy that summer. Early in 2006, the B-sides collection Missing Songs was released; Maximo Park also maintained their hectic touring schedule and returned to the studio, with their second full-length due later that year. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide