The British band Maxïmo Park was formed in 2001 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The name was taken from Maximo Gomez Park, a meeting place in Havana for revolutionary Cubans. Initially, the group consisted of Duncan Lloyd (guitar), Archis Tiku (bass), Lukas Wooller (keyboards) and Tom English (drums). In 2003, Paul Smith joined the group as the official vocalist. The band looked to post-punk and new wave for their music, which has The Jam, The Stranglers, Josef K and The Smiths as some of the influences.
Maxïmo Park aroused attention of the Warp Records label, which in 2004 released the band's first single, The Coast Is Always Changing. The following year came out the debut album, entitled A Certain Trigger. The album, which was produced by Paul Epworth, was critically acclaimed and nominated for the 2005 Mercury Prize. However, it went to Antony and the Johnsons' I Am a Bird Now.
A Certain Trigger' had the tracks "The Coast Is Always Changing", "Apply Some Pressure", "Graffiti", "Going Missing" and "I Want You to Stay" released as singles.
With production by Gil Norton (best known for working with the Pixies), in 2007 came out Our Earthly Pleasures, the group's second album. Quicken the Heart, 2009 album, Maxïmo Park recorded in Los Angeles with producer Nick Launay.
In 2010, Paul Smith released a solo album entitled Margins. The group returned with a new album in 2012, when they released The National Health, a work that featured Gil Norton again in production.
Too Much Information, the band's fifth album, came out in February 2014. In 2017, the band released Risk to Exist. In 2021, Maxïmo Park returned with Nature Always Wins.
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