The Maccabees – Given to the Wild
Album Review by Brian Sykes
First impressions: This is my first run in with The Maccabees, and honestly I’m very comfortable with saying that they may become one of my new favorite bands. They have so may great elements that one would look for in a band. They can be fun, upbeat, and happy while then taking it down and become very mellow and relaxed. They even bring it down and get very serious drone-y, which they actually do VERY well. This album has no problem turning around and throwing a twist or a surprise your way. Truthfully, that’s always a refreshing thing.
All this entire band has is some serious talent, and they obviously know it writing a ballsy album like this. With one of the tightest rhythm sections this genre has seen in a while, they very subtly take those driving rhythms and throw really great thought out vocal harmonies over it, and with the driving guitar lines that remind us of some great 80’s bands of the day; The Maccabees really have a good thing going.
They have no problem throwing in a horn section or a guitar solo in these songs, which are two things that indie rock has really been lacking. Amazingly enough these guys do it with ease and on top of it, it fits AND sounds great. More bands than one person would like to count trying to do this whole Rock driven, reverb overload, super indie, throwback, only vibes sound, and a serious handful of them crash and burn in the process, or (with a very “dad-like” saying) they get “get lost in the sauce”, and the music becomes very convoluted. Not The Maccabees though, they pull it off just right while they give this genre a fresh kick in the ass, and they do it near flawlessly.
Song by Song:
1. Given to the Wild (Intro)- Just please do yourself a favor and don’t listen to this intro, now this isn’t me saying that this is a bad intro. But this doesn’t really do a great job of setting up the entire album. On the other hand, it does do a really awesome job of setting up the first song, but that’s not really how one wants to make an ALBUM intro, but I do give points for effort, very solid effort. Now, that being said…
2. Child- This is seriously a solid opener for this album and this song really gives you an awesome pallet of sounds that you’re going to hear through the album. With horns, really well thought out vocal harmonies, pounding drums, a tasteful guitar solo towards the end of the song, and an almost 80’s (but still modern feel); it really does set the mood for the rest of the album. Musicians take notes; this is how you want to open an album.
3. Feel to Follow- This song does a great job of keeping the energy up, starting the song with really upbeats drums and vocal harmonies, a piano shortly comes in and sets the tone of the song, then they hit you with the chorus. This chorus really popped for me, just the way they layered the chords over top of the singers belting out “Feel To Follow” over and over. Towards the end of the chorus you get a real sense of overcoming something, very solid.
4. Ayla- Now, 15 seconds into this song I had realized that it did one thing really well, it helped me keep the constant head-bob that I had just noticed I’ve had for the past two songs. With that being said, you can probably guess that this song grooves really hard, like REALLY hard, opening with a really great piano line and really punchy drums. The song gives you another side of The Maccabees. As the singer keeps calling out the name of the title character, “Ayla”, this song just keeps pounding on, really keeping up the energy but giving you a less sporadic feel than the last couple of songs, which I assume is for the set up of what I like to call the “Mid-Album Slow Spot”. And hey would you look at that…
5. Glimmer- This song really takes the edge off. “Glimmer” really starts the “Mid-Album Slow Spot” off well. Now really quick, the “Mid-Album Slow Spot” is what I like to say when (normally around the 5th song) the album starts to cool down a little bit and slip in some slow songs, pretty much all 75 percent of albums tend to do this, seriously. No one wants to end or begin an album with all his or her slow songs. With that being said, this song really does its job, as it’s not too laid back so it’s not an abrupt immediate stop. Instead it eases the listener right into the “Slow Spot”. However it does have a pretty heavy build up around the 3 minute mark, the build-up doesn’t go into something to intense for the song, it just makes itself know then brings the song right back into the groove-filled, chilled-out powerhouse it is. As a whole it’s a really awesome 5th song and really deserves the spot it hold on this album. Although, this song doesn’t really end, it fades out, which I’m not a huge fan of, I find it to be a cheap way to end a song, but I’ll let it pass because it is such solid song.
6. Forever I’ve Known- I dig this song so hard, very possibly my favorite cut off the record. The opening half of this song really brings back old Velvet-Underground-esque vibes. The guitar pulls in a heavy drone and submerges you right into the song. It also does a really awesome job bringing back the really choppy sporadic feel of the first song of the album to lead you back into the upbeat second act (which oddly enough arises a problem with the next track). But all in all this is still a really awesome lead-out of the good ol’ “Mid-album slow spot”, by really bringing back the vibe without shoving it in your face.
7. Heave- Okay, so here I actually caught my first problem of the album. Now before I get into it, let me say that I actually truly enjoy this song as a whole. I think just like all the other tracks on this CD that it’s written fairly well. But the first problem I have with it is that I do feel like it’s a little bit of a filler song as it has all of the elements that this band gives on the rest of the tracks with driving drums and the vocal harmonies and such. I feel as though this cut lacks a lot of the balls that the others have. It ends with a fade out; which this time is not as tasteful as the earlier “Glimmer” fading out feature. It’s as if they didn’t know how to end the song. As if they came up with a really cool chorus and bridge and didn’t know what to do after that. Also I think the placement of this song is a little off, it’s considerably more laid back than “Forever I’ve Known” which I find to almost back track on the flow of the album. But that being said it’s still a solid song, but this being a 13-song album, maybe they could’ve done without this one.
8. Pelican- Ahhh! Here it is! As much as I really dug mellow middle section of this album, I was quite ready to get back to the more up-beat stuff this song had to offer, and this song brings it back and brings it back HARD. This cut opens up almost like a British Punk song, very reminiscent of The Clash. Then when the chorus comes in it does what this band seems to do really well and flips the song on its ass. It really starts to vibe like an 80’s teen band that can remind one of AHA or even The Cure, but under all of this it still hold a very fresh modern feel. Great ways to pick the album back up.
9. Went Away- Sam (the drummer of this band) is so talented but tasteful at the same time. He knows just what the song wants and gives it to their listeners all while serving it with a smile. This song does a great job hold up the energetic flow of this album and the 80’s vibe we’ve been introduced to in the second half of it.
10. Go- Is this a little bit of hip-hop I hear? Oh you guys!! Yes, this is EXACTLY what this band is all about. They take a modern hip-hop beat and throw a good ol’ reliable 80’s synth on top and open the song right up that way. Then in true Maccabees fashion, they hit you with a pounding verse that dives straight into a pounding chorus. But then when you think it’s going to get harder, they cut it right down and make it intimate again. Yet, before you think you’ve escaped this song, at the 3:10 mark, they do a quick build up and end with a heavy pounding chorus by even bringing back the horns we were introduced to at the beginning of the album. THIS is great structuring for a song; musicians, again, take notes.
11. Unknow- Now this song seems to start the second slower part of this album, or what I like to call (and may or may not have just came up with) “The Album-End Cool-Down”. Now this isn’t a slow song by any means but it definitely has a nice downbeat feel to it. Though I feel there’s nothing entirely special about this song, I do feel it’s deserved a spot on this album. It’s a solid transition song into the next cut; also, we’re introduced to some female vocals on this track that adds a really nice touch. Oh! And how could I forget?! This song (just like the rest of the second half of the album) has a definite 80’s vibe to it. Love it.
12. Slowly One- This is probably the first song on the album that I’m actually comfortable cling as a proper “Slow Song.” While there were slower songs earlier on the record they all had put a little booty in it towards the end of the song. While this song does have a pretty sporadic guitar solo around the 2:35 mark, it’s nothing to get your panties in a bunch about because it really stays true to the slow vibe of this song. Instead of adding speed the solo just adds power, it’s a very nice touch. This track does a great job of holding the torch for the low point of “The Album-End Cool-Down.”
13. Grew up at Midnight- Ahh, and here we are at the end of the album. This song may be one of the most perfect album end songs I’ve heard in a while. Instead of throwing all the filler songs towards the end of the album, like MOST bands (you know who you are), they really used the space of the 13 songs on this album to create a solid story arch. This songs starts with “The Album-End Cool-Down” vibe left to us with “Slowly One” and very tastefully brings the listener back to the powerful, driving rhythms, belting vocals, solid guitar riffs and over all hugeness that this albums had to offer through the entire time. As the singers belt out “We grew up at midnight, we were only kids then” over top of the driving chorus, it gives a real sense of nostalgia over top of resolution, and it really gives you the feeling that you’ve just listened to a really solid album. To top it all off, it abruptly ends, just as soon as it was started. As the second track “Child” was a perfect opener for this album, “Grew Up At Midnight” is the perfect closer. God, The Maccabees.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Website: http://www.themaccabees.co.uk/
