The Maccabees – Given To The Wild (Fiction)

The Maccabees return in the dawn of 2012 with their outstanding third album after going one over themselves.

Growing up can be a long process, but it takes The Maccabees [approx] 53 minutes to tell you how they done it. From the start to end, a story is unfolded by audio, of childhood and the cycle of life. The band have brought in many new elements of electronic styles rather than focusing on their regular power ballad method. This time, all five members have had made something of the tracks, sending e-mails back and forth of update parts of songs. Methods like this could of turned out horribly wrong, albeit the price has payed off. The Maccabees have reached new highs and have totally proved to the nation they are a very important band in Britain.

The Brighton five-pieces’ new sounds hit you from off, as ‘Child’ delicately glides with sounds of liquid bass and melancholy guitar. Orlando chimes his magical vocals around your eardrums, like a church choir, the guitars from Felix and Hugo ripple and cut just at the right moments to create mass intensity and head-banging. ‘Feel To Follow’ really is the album release, cutting it loose from the beginning. Orlando’s watercolour voice breaks out to the lyric “How will I ever dare to breath“ and shoots you straight into a soaring oblivion of indie-crash-bang-and-wallop. ‘Forever I’ve Know’ begins heavy and moodier, until Orlando cries “Couldn’t you just lie/I’m a child to your voice and I know nothing stays forever“ and once again rockets into the abyss of crazy riffs and drumbeats.

‘Pelican’ beats beautifully with Orlando’s nostalgic lyric writing re-appearing “before you know it pushing up the daisies” which comes after soft, half way point ‘Heave’. ‘Slowly One’ rolls gently like a lullaby, until you’re zoomed into another crazy riff whilst it echoes with humming and ”laaaaaa la la laaaaaa”. ‘Grew Up At Midnight’ closes the album with a yearning affection of the past “we were only kids then“, re-iterating Orlando’s audio story of maturing.

‘Given To The Wild’ holds back just enough to make sure it’s not to overdone, or to subtle. It’s an album that creates an adventure as you listen all the way through, entices your full attention to a truly phenomenal record from a quintet of amazing talents and really pulls on your heart-strings of your childhood memories.

Buy your copy from iTunes here.