Maxïmo Park has announced their new album Stream of Life, set for release on 27th September via Lower Third (pre-order here). The announcement is accompanied by the release of the lead single, ‘Your Own Worst Enemy’.
The band’s eighth studio album marks their first collaboration in a studio with Grammy-winning producer Ben Allen since their 2021 release Nature Always Wins. Recorded quickly and with minimal editing, the album reflects a more reflective and introspective side of the band.
Lead singer Paul Smith explains the inspiration behind the album title, drawn from a short story by Ukrainian-born Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. “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.”
Commenting on the lead single, Smith says: “‘Your Own Worst Enemy’ has a different feel to anything we’ve done before – loose and lean, yet still rocking! It’s about that horrible feeling where you suddenly realise you’ve made a familiar error, and also the lies we tell each other on a daily basis to avoid confrontation or turmoil.”
The album continues the band’s mission to document the world around them, with themes covering passion, politics, and privilege. Smith adds, “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.”
Maxïmo Park has also announced a UK and EU tour to support the release of Stream of Life (tickets available here). Tour dates are as follows:
Maxïmo Park – 2024 Headline UK/EU Tour Dates:
- 8th Oct – Academy, Dublin, IE
- 9th Oct – Limelight 2, Belfast, NI
- 11th Oct – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, UK
- 12th Oct – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK
- 13th Oct – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK
- 15th Oct – Beckett Students’ Union, Leeds, UK
- 16th Oct – Waterfront, Norwich, UK
- 18th Oct – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
- 19th Oct – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
- 20th Oct – Concorde 2, Brighton, UK
- 22nd Oct – Trinity, Bristol, UK
- 23rd Oct – Town Hall, Birmingham, UK
- 24th Oct – Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
- 26th Oct – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
- 27th Oct – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
- 4th Nov – Melkweg Oz, Amsterdam, NL
- 5th Nov – Point Ephémère, Paris, FR
- 6th Nov – Stollwerck, Cologne, DE
- 8th Nov – Markthalle, Hamburg, DE
- 9th Nov – VEGA, Copenhagen, DK
- 10th Nov – Metropol, Berlin, DE
- 12th Nov – Exil, Zurich, CH
- 13th Nov – Technikum, Munich, DE
- 14th Nov – Substage, Karlsruhe, DE
The tracklisting for Stream of Life is as follows:
- Your Own Worst Enemy
- Favourite Songs
- Dormant ‘Til Explosion (Feat. Vanessa Briscoe Hay)
- The End Can Be As Good As The Start
- Armchair View
- Quiz Show Club
- Stream Of Life
- Doppelgänger Eyes
- I Knew You’d Say That
- The Path I Chose
- No Such Thing As A Society
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