Billingham Records are proud to announce ‘Contradictions’, the brand new record by dynamic pop auteur Paul Smith.

The album shows a more vulnerable side to the Maxïmo Park ringleader, drawing inspiration from across the miles combining North Easterly charm with the grit of Brooklyn’s NYC coast and shows that no matter where you’re heading or where you’ve been, life itself can be a bit of a paradox.

Contradictions took four years to write and record, having begun life on the road at the point Paul assembled his ‘Intimations’, Andrew Hodson (drums) from electronic duo Warm Digits and Claire Adams (bass), to help tour his personal debut ‘Margins’.

With a hectic work and creative schedule taking over, a result of numerous artistic ideas held under his fedora, Paul transferred his attention to recording ‘Frozen By Sight’, the recent chamber pop collaboration with Field Music’s Peter Brewis and Maxïmo Park’s latest album ‘Too Much Information’. ‘Contradictions’ took the back seat for a while but was never far from Paul’s thoughts. “After the ‘Margins’ tour I continued writing new material and adding to some of The Intimations’ musical ideas,” he recalls. “With all the other things I was working on, it took longer than expected, but the strength of the songs spurred me on. The recent music I’ve made is quite stark but this record was an antidote to that: direct and upbeat in its own dreamy way.”