I Maxïmo Park si ripresentano sul mercato discografico, un anno dopo il loro buon debutto "A Certain Trigger", con questo "Missing Songs".
Il disco non è un lavoro composto da inediti, bensì una raccolta di b-sides pubblicati all'interno dei singoli estratti dal primo album. Lanciato precedentemente in Giappone con una track list differente, "Missing Songs" è destinato quasi esclusivamente ai fans del gruppo britannico desiderosi di possedere tutto, ma proprio tutto della ancor esile discografia di Smith e soci.
A livello stilistico-musicale, difatti, non si riscontrano novità o sorprese nelle (comunque buone) composizioni della band britannica. C'è però da dire che il livello qualitativo, trattandosi pur sempre di materiale non incluso in studio releases "principali", è più che discreto.
Già la prima canzone, "A-19", si apre su chitarre decise e presenti, ricalcando esattamente lo stile compositivo tipicamente Maxïmo Park anche nei testi che, come sempre, tradiscono l'amore del leader Paul Smith per la letteratura (in particolar modo quella russa, a suo dire).
Spiccano dal gruppo pure una bella e breve cover di John Lennon, "Isolation", in origine contenuta nel lavoro solista dell'ex beatle "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band", e "Fear Of Falling", probabilmente la miglior canzone tenuta fuori dai due album sinora realizzati. Bellissima la strofa ed il giro melodico del pezzo, veramente uno spreco non averla inserita in un disco di inediti.
"My Life In Reverse", posta tra i due numeri succitati, sembra allontanarsi dal caratteristico stile "nervoso" delle composizioni di Smith e compagnia per approdare verso lidi più "lineari" e rassicuranti (à la Snow Patrol, per interderci). Si prosegue così tra pezzi più ritmati ed in linea con lo Smith-pensiero ("I Want You To Leave", "A Year Of Doubt") e cose più ragionate e curate ("Trial And Error") o addirittura acustiche ("Stray Talk").
Passata "Hammer Horror", che anticipa le sonorità meno immediate contenute nel recente "Our Earthly Pleasures", troviamo in chiusura tre versioni demo di "Apply Some Pressare", "Graffiti" e "Once, A Glimpse".
Pubblicato dalla mitica Warp e prodotto dal bravo Paul Epworth, "Missing Songs" è un lavoro valido ed interessante, consigliato (come già detto) in particolar modo a chi segue da vicino le vicende musicali del gruppo britannico.
E bravi i Maxïmo Park.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 A19 (02:19)
A footbridge calls out, dull metal moans as we clamber over
Paint is repelled and bronze grips hard
I can't touch such an ugly surface
250 miles away, you need money to spread your wings
Each town must bear a name
A lasting testament to organization
Sobbing and Sighing
The scales are falling from your eyes
Green metal grows, towers toppling
They tore it down before I took my picture
A19, I can't settle down
The same attitude engulfs this country
My only aspirations were those held on an A4 printout
But those word weren't in my repertoire
You can't cling to a reputation
Sobbing and Sighing
The scales are falling from your eyes
Tossing and Turning
The truth should come as no surprise
A continent could fall tonight
And it would have no impact on our lives
It's okay to love the way that something looks
Just be sure beneath it something hooks
(repeat)
02 Isolation (01:14)
People say we've got it made.
Don't they know we're so afraid?
Isolation
We're afraid to be alone.
Everybody's got to get a home.
Isolation
Just a boy and a little girl.
Trying to change the whole wide world.
Isolation
The world is just a little town.
Everybody's trying to pull us down.
Isolation
I don't expect you to understand,
After you caused so much pain.
But then again,
you're not to blame,
you're just a human.
We're afraid of everyone.
We're afraid of the sun.
Isolation
They say we'll never dissapear.
The world may not have many years.
Isolation
04 Fear of Falling (02:36)
I, I hope that I can,
I think that I can,
I know that I can, reverse,
Reverse the damage,
The damage I've done to you
And I, I think I found you,
I know I saw you,
I think I found you, I think,
It's all you need,
And I wanted to look back at you
The tension snaps
Your love is good for me,
We never over-reached,
For fear of falling
I, I saw you enter, entertaining,
Repeating your difference,
A gap in time,
And you forgot your lines again
Wanting to know you,
But I'm always late,
And I had to give you back
You know that I lie,
Dead in the water,
A game of hide and seek
The tension snaps
Your love is good for me,
We never over-reached,
For fear of falling
Your love, you know that it's good for me,
We nearly over-reached,
My signal is failing
Your love, you know that it's good for me
The same old roads,
The same old bricks,
The same old faces that you hate
The same old roads,
The same old bricks,
The same old faces that you hate
06 A Year of Doubt (02:01)
I wait behind the factory gates for you
To finish off your shift
Irate because you're losing faith
Fortune is said to favour the brave
Are you bored or are you blind
Beware the contents of your mind
I wait to find a different race if so
Then will not compete
My pain is worth no more than yours
In time we give up on ourselves
Simple life is not an option
Try to define the word 'satisfaction'
I wait behind the factory gates for you
To finish off your shift
Solitary confinement never sounded so good
You said that you were speechless
And God I wish you were
Too late to gather in the sails
Commit I face a year of doubt
Stand up to what we both despise
Forlorn is that we find a friend
Never pya to be complacent
Nature will always choose a replacement
I wait behind the factory gates for you
To finish off your shift
Irate because you're losing faith
Fortune is said to favour the brave
Are you bored or are you blind
Beware the contents of your mind
I wait behind the factory gates for you
To finish off your shift
Solitary confinement never sounded so good
You said that you were speechless
And God I wish you were
I wait behind the factory gates for you
To finish off your shift
I wait behind the factory gates
08 Stray Talk (02:47)
It's dark but I don't want to find the light
And I can't close my eyes
The only one you really trust
Is the one who always lets you down
It's not my place to give advice
When all I've done was make mistakes
I didn't mean to tell you everything
And anyway, well it's too late in the day
Stray talk all alone
Swinging out of view
I'm flailing round the room
And I'm staring out at you
Don't burn your hand when you turn out the light
Your cheek is turning red
You always wake me with your warmth
And your arms wrapped around my neck
The broken silence lasts for seconds
And normal service is resumed
I didn't mean to tell you anything
And anyhow, well it's too soon for that now
Stray talk all alone
Swinging out of view
Well I'm flailing round the room
And I'm staring out at you
You sat there looking like a prize
So I went back on what I'd said
And now we're both left out to dry
Put out to sea and left to drift
We're drifting out to sea
We're drifting out to sea
You said the leaves are like that day
And now they're dead and charred
Stray talk all alone
Swinging in and out of view
Well I'm flailing round the room
And I'm staring out at you
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