Our Earthly Pleasures
Studio album by
Maxïmo Park
Released2 April 2007 (UK)
8 May 2007 (US)
RecordedAugust–December 2006
Genre
Length41:47
LabelWarp
ProducerGil Norton
Maxïmo Park chronology
Found on Film
(2006)		 Our Earthly Pleasures
(2007)		 Quicken The Heart
(2009)
Singles from Our Earthly Pleasures
  1. "Our Velocity"
    Released: 19 March 2007
  2. "Books from Boxes"
    Released: 11 June 2007
  3. "Girls Who Play Guitars"
    Released: 20 August 2007
  4. "Karaoke Plays"
    Released: 3 December 2007

Our Earthly Pleasures is the second studio album by Newcastle-based alternative rock band Maxïmo Park. It was released on 2 April 2007 in the UK (and 8 May 2007 in the US), being preceded by the single "Our Velocity", released two weeks previously, on 19 March 2007.

Album information

Album details, including track listing, were released on the NME's website on 22 January 2007.[1] as well as the band's official web site.[2] The album was leaked in various places across the internet in March 2007.

Vocalist Paul Smith states that the title of the album stems from the idea that we are bonded by our experiences, and that several tracks were written to embody specific human emotions. The title of the album appears in the lyrics of "Russian Literature".

"There it is again that lock of hair that won't sit still
Our earthly pleasures distract us against our will."[3]

The band did an album launch party at the Baltic Flour Mill, the contemporary art gallery in Gateshead on 28 March 2007. Another album launch gig took place at HMV Newcastle at midnight on 2 April, to release the album, hometown fans were the first to get hold of Our Earthly Pleasures. A third launch party took place in London, at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, on the evening of 2 April.

The tracks "Our Velocity", "Books from Boxes", "Girls Who Play Guitars" and "Karaoke Plays" have been released as singles. Tickets to the April/May Our Earthly Pleasures Tour went on sale on 2 February 2007. Tickets sold out within one hour to the majority of the venues.

The two US bonus tracks were mislabeled on iTunes Music Store, with track 13 being labeled "Distance Makes" when it was actually the song "Pride Before A Fall", "Distance Makes" was included as the other bonus track. A special edition was also released exclusively in Australia, containing the bonus track "Robert Altman" (Track 13 - 2:24)

The song "The Unshockable" is featured in FIFA 08 and a Johnny Test commercial on Cartoon Network. The song "Our Velocity" is featured on the soundtrack for Project Gotham Racing 4.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Drowned in Sound7/10[6]
The Guardian[7]
NME6/10[8]
Pitchfork Media6.3/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

Released in April 2007, the album was successful, entering the charts at number two behind Kings of Leon's album Because of the Times. The album reached number two on the UK album charts. Overall critics generally gave positive reviews for the album, the average number of stars given was just over 3.5 out of 5.

Rolling Stone (p. 62) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The U.K. indie band's second album has beefed-up sound and increasingly brilliant, not-at-all-pretentious gems like 'Girls Who Play Guitars'."

Spin (p. 86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Maximo Park bring plenty of recognizable spark and smarts to their second album....The record barely pauses for breath."

BBC - 3 stars out of 5 -- "It’s certainly an album that evokes visions of delirious summertime hedonism: its momentum designed for haphazard jumping about in crowds, one sweaty fist in the air whilst the other grapples with a plastic cup of warm lager. Bring It On."[11]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Paul Smith; all music is composed by Duncan Lloyd, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Girls Who Play Guitars"3:12
2."Our Velocity"3:20
3."Books from Boxes"3:28
4."Russian Literature" (Lukas Wooller)3:07
5."Karaoke Plays"4:08
6."Your Urge" (Wooller)3:57
7."The Unshockable" (Lloyd, Wooller)3:16
8."By the Monument" (Smith)2:59
9."Nosebleed"3:25
10."A Fortnight's Time"3:01
11."Sandblasted and Set Free"3:58
12."Parisian Skies" (Archis Tiku, Lloyd)3:56
US Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Pride Before a Fall"3:14
14."Distance Makes" (Tiku)2:12
Australian Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Robert Altman"2:23

Personnel

Maxïmo Park
Additional musicians
  • Nell Catchpole – violin on "Sandblasted and Set Free"
  • Laura Reid – cello on "Sandblasted and Set Free"

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Maximo Park Unveil New Album Details". NME. 22 January 2007.
  2. ↑ "New Single & Album!". Maxïmo Park. 22 January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007.
  3. ↑ Maximo Park Russian Literature lyrics on Yahoo! Music
  4. ↑ "Our Earthly Pleasures by Maxïmo Park". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Our Earthly Pleasures at AllMusic
  6. ↑ "Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". drownedinsound.com. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Dave Simpson (22 March 2007). "CD: Maxïmo Park, Our Earthly Pleasures | Music | The Guardian". London: Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - Maximo Park". NME. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Maximo Park: Our Earthly Pleasures". Pitchfork.
  10. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2 April 2007). "Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2017.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "Music - Review of Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures". BBC. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 180.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "UK Year-End Charts 2007" (PDF). Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "British album certifications – Maximo Park – Our Earthly Pleasures". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
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