Maximo Park – ‘Our Velocity’ (Warp) Released 19/03/07

Like the rare occasion on which a Kinder egg actually yields something exciting, Maximo Park's new single is an unexpected surprise. In the tradition of all great comeback singles, it's one of those that sounds quite a bit different to their other stuff, but still remains comfortingly familiar. The Krautrock keyboards and fuzzy guitar are more LCD Soundsystem than Maximo Park (almost certainly by design; lead singer and noted music obsessive Paul Smith is a fan), yet fit rather snugly with the rest of the track. These days, when every two-bob indie outfit is celebrated for their by-the-numbers attempts at The Libertines' back catalogue, it's nice to see a band that obviously put a lot of time and effort into making their songs sound fantastic.