The first track on the album “Hurt Feelings” immediately brings back the not-so-distant past of the musical duo with a pounding electronic beat, pointless talking, and a rap of hilarity. The first four songs of the album are along these lines, even sounding similar to the hit single “Business Time” off of the first album with the song “I Told You I Was Freaky”. But if the hip-hoppopotamus  route isn’t quite your style have no worries, track number five(“Demon Woman”) brings back in the relentless and catchy melodies of their rhythm guitar.

The rest of the album doesn’t really stray too far from the original track that the duo was headed down on its first album, but it is still a refreshing and always laughable experience most likely to be better enjoyed with groups of friends. Song after song, you can be sure to expect masterful arrangements to evoke laughter from the way they sing them, to the lyrics which they are comprised of.

A perfect example is the beautiful acoustic song which finishes off the album, called “Angels”. From the first seconds of the song, one could almost expect a love ballad, but the lyrics instantly turn into, “there are angels in the clouds doin’ it doin’ it doin’ it doin’ it” and continue throughout the rest of the song to finish off the album. All-in-all I Told You I Was Freaky holds true to what is the Flight of the Conchords and will surely be enjoyed by anyone looking for a quick laugh.

Click here to check out the first single from the album.

Upon first listen of the album it’s obvious why ‘The kids are sick again’ was chosen as the first single. A drum pattern that carries a similar feel to ‘Halfway Home’ supports the verse before breaking into a chorus that begs to be played at summer house parties. Cranking out another anthem on ‘Lets get clinical’, singer Paul Smith pads the bridge with Oos and Aahs as he proclaims that he would ‘Like to map your body out/north to south’. Maximo displays the rock part of their pop/rock genrenization on ‘Tanned’ with Lucas Wooller brightening up the track with arpeggiated bleeps and bloops, complementing the guitar part that, for some reason, reminds me of Incubus. Maximo uses their ability of translating feelings into audio to keep the mood high for the remainder of the album, but the ability to convey feeling to an audience is an a skill that most bands would use more to their advantage. Maximo uses it sparingly, choosing to stick to the script of ‘The Kids are Sick Again’ throughout the album, save for a couple of tracks.

With most of the tracks on Maximo‘s album clocking in at around 3 minutes and though they kept the tracks short, it still doesn’t save them from repeating themselves throughout the album, to the point that by the final song you feel like you’ve heard it all before. It’s a fine line between an album being cohesive and being repetitive. On ‘Quicken The Heart‘ Maximo rides the fence, almost tilting into the repetitive side, but for most people this album will be repetitive anyway after being shortened to 5 tracks for their Ipod.

If you liked the drums you heard on this album check out how to play drums for beginners for a rundown on the drums.