There's a big difference between something that's extraneous and something that's missing. For example, DVDs are loaded with inconsequential deleted scenes, unfunny blooper reels and unrated "Collector's Editions" that give you the impression that you missed out on something when you saw the movie in theaters. When you get home and actually watch the extras - if you even watch them at all - you find 90 percent of them are garbage. No one wants to see Adam Sandler's misunderstood masterpiece "Little Nicky" restored to the former glory of its star's original vision. Nobody should want to get the unrated version of "Old School," because all you see is more of Will Ferrell than is good for you. These scenes aren't missing from the movie, they just weren't good enough to make the cut.
This is why Maximo Park's new B-side compilation "Missing Songs" has something to prove. If you make a bad record, it's just a bad record. Your bad B-side compilation will be seen by fans as a rip-off, a scam, and, to the fanatics, a personal insult. The band has to prove that this is more than an attempt to make a little extra money off last year's exceptional "A Certain Trigger," and that these are songs that are missing, and not extraneous.
"A Certain Trigger" was released last year to a strange mix of critical success and indifference. Maximo Park's sound is a midpoint between Bloc Party and The Futureheads, less fierce than the former and not as goofy as the latter. They were almost universally applauded - at least mildly. After the album's initial release, they dropped off the radar until they popped up again as they squeezed their way onto the bottom of some year-end lists. "Missing Songs" probably won't be the push they need to stay in the spotlight, but it definitely proves that these B-sides were good enough for their own release.
Opener "A19" immediately feels like it could have fit on "A Certain Trigger." Its electronic accents, high pressure rhythm section, and the heavy British accent of lead singer Paul Smith when he sings, "Continents could fall tonight / It would have no impacts on our lives" sound like it belongs alongside their knock-out singles "Apply Some Pressure" and "Graffiti."
Though "A19" succeeds on its own strength, a good B-side comp should show a side of the band that you don't get from the major records; otherwise it's just a collection of slightly sub-par songs. "Missing Songs" has plenty of odd-ball moments that keep the listener from simply pulling out "A Certain Trigger" instead. "I Want You to Leave" has all the parts of a regular Maximo Park song, but the way they are arranged is completely new for the band. "Hammer Horror" sounds a little like the theme song to a vintage TV spy show and is reminiscent of a slightly less nervous version of The Strokes' "Juicebox."
The cover of John Lennon's "Isolation" is a risky choice. If you are going to cover a track off Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band," you better hope you have William Tell-like accuracy. If you miss the apple by even a little bit, you're still going to be in big trouble. The problem is that "Plastic Ono Band" is such an emotionally raw and personal record that a bad cover can seem callous. Maximo Park's version ends up sounding like a song Kraftwerk would have recorded if they had souls. Though they don't quite nail it, they are saved because it is an abbreviated version (just over a minute), and, though idiosyncratic, it doesn't come off as a stab at kitsch, which would be disrespectful.
Maximo Park is never going to be the best band in their genre or lauded as the "Next Big Thing." What makes Maximo Park a fun, solid band is that they seem to know this. All their output so far doesn't harbor any pretensions - they just want to play some really catchy music. Though there are three unnecessary demos of their big singles at the end to pad the track listing, "Missing Songs" proves it has something more to say than "We need money."
