Our Earthly Pleasures

[3/5] Maxïmo Park’s new wave-splattered 2005 debut, A Certain Trigger, was more than a record; it was another nail in the coffin of the rave generation. As the first rock release on techno powerhouse Warp Records, it outraged e-tards everywhere. Toning down the angular spazziness of its predecessor, Our Earthly Pleasures won’t convince Kid Koala to trade in his turntables for zebra-striped sunglasses and a vintage Rickenbacker. At their best this time out-namely the skinny-tie dance-party detonator “Our Velocity”-the Newcastle five-piece sound like the U.K. back when new wave was actually new. Mostly though, Maxïmo Park seem to have grown up, making for a record that’s pleasant but edgeless. There are flashes of retro-flavored, spirit-of-’79 brilliance, including Duncan Lloyd’s spy-versus-spy guitars on “The Unshockable” and Lukas Wooler’s Casios-gone-wild keyboards on “Your Urge”. Beyond that, Our Earthly Pleasures is as strangely sedate as everything Squeeze did after blowing their new-wave bolt with “Cool For Cats.” Somewhere, the e-tards are having the last laugh. (WARP) Mike Usinger