#songoftheday / VIDEO: PAUL SMITH AND THE IMITATIONS: “BREAK ME DOWN”

“Break Me Down” is the light, jangly and delicious new single by Paul Smith and The Imitations, Paul Smith being Maxïmo Park’s frontman.  “You can break me down / Catch a plane / And I’ll meet you in the middle,” he sings joyously during the hooky chorus.  It’s not the deepest song he’s ever sung, but it’s one of the most playful and it’s highly enjoyable at that.  And that’s plenty enough reason for us to make it our #songoftheday today.  Enjoy!

Press release:

Preceding the release of their upcoming album Contradictions on August 21^st, Maxïmo Park frontman Paul Smith—accompanied by his new band The Intimations—debut the single ‘Break Me Down’ alongside a new video by Gemma Yin Taylor. Offering a more forthright vulnerability within his words, the song establishes a playful contrast between Smith’s confessional self-reflections and the rollicking, upbeat nature of the music itself. “Despite this being the poppiest song on the album, there’s a lot of yearning, looking back at a relationship and the sense of a lost opportunity underlying the reminiscence,” Smith explains.

The video—created by London mixed-media film and animation extraordinaire Gemma Yin Taylor—uses fragmented images and kaleidoscopic colors to form a visual path that mirrors the spirited dynamic of the song. “I wanted a colourful video to match the song,” Smith details. “Gemma, the director, hand-painted and then animated the whole thing so that there’s a finely-crafted element to the bold visuals.

Assembling his ‘Intimations’, Andrew Hodson (drums) from electronic duo Warm Digits and Claire Adams (bass), to help tour his personal solo debut Margins, Contradictions took altogether four years to write and record. And the musicianship speaks for itself. The album finds Paul in a more inwardly contemplative state, a different league than the pop-tour-de-force choruses he’s been characterized by over the years, but also a much clearer, more hi-fi progression from the melancholy of Margins. “I only ever want to release music that I feel adds something new to the world, however small”, Smith resolves, “and I’m confident that Contradictions is an alternative pop record that fulfils my own criteria.”

Paul Smith and the Intimations will hit the road this September for a full UK tour. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 10^th.  Dates Below:

September Tour Dates:

9/1/15- Rescue Rooms, Nottingham

9/2/15- Oran Mor, Glasgow

9/3/15- Deaf Institute, Manchester

9/4/15- The Cluny, Newcastle

9/5/15- Brudenell, Leeds

9/7/15- Rainbow, Birmingham

9/8/15- Boston Music Rooms, London

9/9/15- The Haunt, Brighton

Youtube info: