MAXÏMO PARK release new albumStream of Life

The road to Stream Of Life saw the band link up once again with Ben Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective), Grammy-winning producer of 2021’s UK #2 charting, pandemic-era tour de force Nature Always Wins, as well as producer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin, Sports Team). As a result, it marks the first time they have all been together in a studio to make an album since 2016.

It finds the band in perhaps the most reflective state they’ve been in. Lead singer Paul Smith, this most lit-pop of lyric writers, took the album title from a short story by Ukrainian-born Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, inspired by both its stream of consciousness style and the way it prompts reflection on the inner mechanisms of people’s minds. It begs the question of why they do the things that they do, even when they can seem counterintuitive to the outsider. There’s an inner flow to every individual – a stream of life.

Through each the album’s singles – the explosive ‘Favourite Songs’, the lean and direct lead ‘Your Own Worst Enemy’, the brisk power-popper ‘The End Can Be As Good As The Start’, and the tongue-in-cheek ‘Quiz Show Clue’ – the band have focussed their smart songwriting eye on the things that keep our personal worlds in motion. Lead singer Paul Smith says: “We’ve always tried to document the world around us at each stage of our lives while subtly nudging the music forward each time – this record continues that mission. It was great to be back in a studio after recording remotely last time. Working with Ben in Atlanta, and Burke in Byker, was as stimulating as it’s ever been, and I think we captured that energy. Thematically, the record covers passion, politics, and privilege amongst other topics.”

With Stream of Life now released, new album track ‘Armchair View’ is now available to hear. Smith continues about the song: “Armchair View is a bit of a musical departure for us, featuring a gently looping acoustic guitar meshed with soft, glitchy electronics. I thought it would be interesting to conceal an examination of male privilege and judgemental behaviour within this serene setting. It’s now got a kind of bittersweet quality.”

Maxïmo Park – 2024 headline UK / EU tour dates

Tickets are on sale now here.

Oct 8 – Academy, Dublin, IE
Oct 9 – Limelight 2, Belfast, NI
Oct 11 – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 12 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 13 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 15 – Beckett Students’ Union, Leeds, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 16 – Waterfront, Norwich, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 18 – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 19 – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 20 – Concorde 2, Brighton, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 22 – Trinity, Bristol, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 23 – Town Hall, Birmingham, UK
Oct 24 – Leadmill, Sheffield, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 26 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK – SOLD OUT
Oct 27 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK – SOLD OUT
Nov 4 – Melkweg Oz, Amsterdam, NL – SOLD OUT
Nov 5 – Point Ephémère, Paris, FR
Nov 6 – Stollwerck, Cologne, DE – SOLD OUT
Nov 8 – Markthalle, Hamburg, DE – SOLD OUT
Nov 9 – VEGA, Copenhagen, DK
Nov 10 – Metropol,  Berlin, DE – SOLD OUT
Nov 12 – Plaza Klub, Zurich, CH (venue upgrade)
Nov 13 – Technikum. Munich, DE – SOLD OUT
Nov 14 – Substage, Karlsruhe, DE

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