Maximo Park - The National Health

Of all the bands that have 'been away for a while', Maximo Park were always one of the ones we were holding the most hopes for. Back when we were angsty teenagers polishing off our GCSEs, we were obsessed with them - tracks like Our Velocity became those magical 'soundtrack to your life' moments that get indelibly ingrained alongside all your formative memories. And now they've returned, at long last, with new album The National Health, and the title track is a bit of a treat - a real storming reaffirmation of the band's core values

2009's Quicken The Heart, while still a perfectly good album, felt nowhere near as vital or 'alive' as the band's first two platinum-selling efforts. Praise must be afforded to The National Health then, for catapulting the band firmly back into everything that made us fall in love with them in the first place - it's snappy, it's energised, and most importantly, it's bloody good.

Maximo Park are back, and we're loving it.

The National Health is released on the 11th June.