North East indie-rock kings Maxïmo Park have announced details of a singles-only tour and one-off 7-inch.
As a band known for their albums but equally loved for their stand-out big-hitters, the Sïngular Tour is a rare chance to hear them play some of their best-loved songs.
Celebrating the art of the single, the band will perform the likes of Apply Some Pressure and Going Missing from their breakthrough debut album A Certain Trigger, to All Of Me from their latest album Nature Always Wins.
Also featuring fan favourites like The National Health and Our Velocity, it will be a show unlike any they have done before, as tours are usually based around new albums.
See the band on the Sïngular Tour at the following venues.
30 Sept – O2 Institute, Birmingham
1 Oct – O2 Academy, Leeds
2 Oct – Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool
4 Oct – Tramshed, Cardiff
6 Oct – Academy, Manchester
7 Oct – Roundhouse, London
8 Oct – O2 Academy, Oxford
10 Oct – O2 Academy, Bristol
12 Oct – Rock City, Nottingham
13 Oct – Barrowland, Glasgow
14 Oct – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
They also announced the release of a new 7in single, Great Art, their first new music since last year’s Nature Always Wins (reviewed here), which just missed out on being the UK No 1.
It is a song which distils the frustrations felt by a decade-plus of right-wing rule that has decimated communities, generational and international relations – and notably the arts world.
Maxïmo Park have always worn their politics well, and Great Art is another hook-filled, thoughtful and scathing addition to the canon of singles that have helped to define their extraordinary reputation as alt-pop hit-makers.
Singer Paul Smith said: “The song is about the insidious nature of Conservative ideology, and a response to people who say ‘at least we’ll get some great art out of it!’.
“We’re excited to have new material to play alongside our other singles on the Sïngular tour – we’ve always written songs crammed full of hooks, so that’s our ideal medium in some ways.”
