When Maximo Park's debut record was released two years ago, it almost seemed like they'd missed their chance. Bloc Party had just dropped their critically-acclaimed Silent Alarm three months previously, and theirs was an album that rode the post-punk wave with aplomb whilst similarly engaging in intelligent, thought-provoking wordsmithery. Maximo Park rode that same wave with A Certain Trigger; yet, while certainly gaining success with their impressively sharp, catchy and finely-honed tracks, they were somewhat overshadowed by Bloc Party's head start. If fans were anxious about Paul Smith and co.'s parade being yet again rained on, Our Earthly Pleasures gives them no cause for concern. Roping in Pixies producer Gil Norton was a canny move; their songs, while still as tight, bouncy and catchy as ever, now have an extra depth and scope that they didn't have before. Although they haven't deviated hugely from that zippy post-punk style they excelled in initially, this excursion sees Smith in a more melancholic lyrical mood, penning tracks of love lost and relationships' ends in his usual quasi-poetic manner. Lines like 'Nightime is a lifeline, the weekend is a Godsend / Another useless fumble, another drunken stumble' from superb uptempo keyboard-led ballad Your Urge, or 'Shadows beneath your eyes / All we have is now, and the arc of your brow' from Parisian Nights demonstrate his ear for an emotive turn-of-phrase, while musically, Lukas Wooler's synth - a staple of the debut - is much less invasive this time 'round, which allows the melodies and lyrics room to breathe. The lion's share of this album is infectious and frantic - The Unshockable, Nosebleed and single Our Velocity all roaring into a blur of angular guitars and delirious drumming - while standout track Sandblasted and Set Free is a different proposition to the quintet's usual fare - a considered, string-subtle number that sees Smith adopt a much calmer persona. There was no need for Maximo Park to worry about their spotlight being stolen; Our Earthly Pleasures proves that their finger is still very much on that trigger, poised to pull.