The Maccabees | Given to the Wild

Given to the Wild the latest album from UK band The Maccabees releases Friday January 6th.

I’ve been waiting nearly three years for a new album from The Maccabees, three years since I first heard the brilliant ‘Wall of Arms’ and have it as my go to album of choice for walking, running, driving and general ‘make me feel good’ all roundness… so no pressure then!

‘Given to the Wild’ doesn’t disappoint, After 4 or 5 listens I’d happily say it’s The Maccabees best work to date. It feels as though the band have grown up and having tried some different elements have settled into a place where they belong. There were always comparisons to Arcade Fire in the past and sometimes if you close your eyes it could be Win Butler on a happy day but Maccabees vocalist, Orlando Weeks, deserves the accolades in his own right. I could listen to his voice forever!

Songs like ‘Feel to Follow’ and ‘Pelican’ are centre pieces for the album while ‘Forever I’ve Known’ is hauntingly beautiful, to be honest I could list every track as a high point. There’s a cinematic quality to the album that will play well this summer when hopefully the band make the Irish Festival circuit.

There’s an upcoming gig scheduled for The Academy in March in 2012. In the meantime be sure to check out the album on iTunes, although we’ve known it for quite a while, the rest of the world and the critics seem to be copping on that The Maccabees are the band to watch for 2012.