Paul Smith - Margins

Thu 20th Jan, 2011 in Music Reviews

Proving to be the latest trend amongst modern alternative groups, Paul Smith, the lead singer of British band Maxïmo Park, has temporarily left his band-mates and released his solo recording Margins to the world. And much like the efforts from Brandon Flowers (The Killers), Kele Okereke (Bloc Party) and Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), this debut solo album doesn’t quite hit the spot in comparison to the music created within the traditional Maxïmo Park records. Which isn’t to say Smith has made a bad recording, but it’s not quite up to the standard we would normally be expecting from him.

Opening track North Atlantic Drift see’s Smith throw in some upbeat drum patterns with some quite cheerful vocals to create the most commercially accessible single on the album. His singing ability clashes highly with the style of Maxïmo Park, so it could probably be passed off as a new single from the group who hasn’t released an album for two years.

Following that track, see’s another popular styled single The Crush and the Shatter, which builds itself on a Smiths/Joy Division hybrid sound. With dark, reverberated tones resonating throughout the track and the British accent twanging heavily within his vocals.

Smith divulges in cross-genre endeavours within most of this album, recording tracks with folk, rock and even a little hint of blues styles every now and then, which reinforces the versatility of his musical ability and his willingness to move away from his groups traditional work and make a name for himself as a solo artist.

We can give Smith outstanding credit for his lyric-writing ability, but there are no hit tracks quite like Maxïmo Park’s Graffiti or Apply Some Pressure on this album, but there are certainly signs that perhaps we could expect some quality music when they decide to produce another album for themselves.