Paul Smith
Margins
Release Date: Oct 11, 2010
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: TOAST
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Album Review: Margins by Paul Smith
Mediocre, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 5.2/10
If you've been patiently waiting for that dude in the Bravery to strike out on his own, your moment of glory might come soon enough. 2010 has seen solo records from the frontmen of the Killers and Bloc Party, two bands who played an enormous role in defining the hi-hat-heavy, synth-spiked sound of modern radio rock that turned "angular" into the most overused word in music criticism of 2005. Paul Smith makes it an official trend with Margins; while his band, Maxïmo Park, didn't quite reach the same level of notoriety, A Certain Trigger is certainly amongst the best of last decade's post-punk revival records.
Based on rating 5/10
Close your eyes for a moment and it is oh-so easy to imagine Paul Smith as that misty-eyed dreamer perched at the back of your Sixth Form class. Already in thrall to the twin pursuits of romance and disappointment, you picture him staring longingly out of the window at some distant object of his affection, pen scratching rhythmically against the back of his heart-adorned exercise book. Fast forward through the months and years into adulthood, he remains the same wistful idealist.
Based on rating 1/5
The perfect break-up album makes you smell the Timotei tang of an ex-lover’s hair brushing across your face. It grimaces when stepping into a room, only to see their gender-skewed possessions scattered about the place, gauchely oblivious to the fact that their owner has gone. It does not, [a]Paul Smith[/a], admit to perving on one’s ex-girlfriend in the tub through cracks in the bathroom door.
Opinion: Mediocre
Fans of Maxïmo Park will not be disappointed with frontman Smith’s solo debut. Chris White 2010 Newcastle’s Maxïmo Park were among the more thoughtful bands to emerge during the UK post-punk/new wave revival of the mid-00s, due in no small part to the acutely observed lyrics of front man Paul Smith. A year on from his group’s rather disappointing third album Quicken the Heart, Smith is back with a collection of self-penned songs recorded with a collection of north-east friends including Field Music’s David Brewis on bass.
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