Given to the Wild

The Maccabees

Before finally listening to Given to the Wild, a lot of hype was being built around The Maccabees’ third album. London’s own indie rock sextet has become one of the hottest bands in the U.K. over the past 5 years. But let’s face it: there are so many buzz bands that have great debuts, pretty solid follow-ups, and then fizzle into obscurity by the time their third album is released. Naturally, I was wary of what I was about to listen to.

I needn’t have worried. The Maccabees have released what is the first truly great album of 2012 in Given to the Wild. Here, we are treated to a splendid, yet heartbreaking album about loss of innocence and coping with heartbreak. Singer Orlando Weeks really knows how to evoke all the proper emotions out of the listener when he tackles each of these themes with his soft and solemn tone.

The opening title track is a perfect segway into “Child”, the album’s second song which tackles the loss of innocence head on. Songs like “Feel to Follow” and “Go” show how truly in sync the band is from an instrumental perspective. The former is just pure bliss with dueling guitars and light drum battering that builds up to the finale of the song, while the latter has its own distinct beat and soaring guitar solo that builds up until only to slow down at the halfway mark. From there it’s lather, rinse, repeat for the second half of “Go.” Lead single “Pelican” is one of the faster songs on the album that focuses on taking what you can from life and enjoying it before our time is up. And the cycle repeats itself over and over.

The album really shines when it deals with heartbreak on one of the album’s best tracks “Forever I’ve Known”, where Week’s sings of knowing a relationship is over, but begs his lover “couldn’t you still try?” After one listen, I was hooked and it’s one of my favorite breakup songs to be released in the past couple years. On “Went Away” he revisits the same theme of love lost and clings onto the shambles of a broken relationship. And when it feels like all hope is lost on “Slowly One” the album slips into a nearly two-minute breakdown that sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

Though this is a fantastic album, it does not come without its flaws. The sound on many of the tracks feels very similar to each other, making it hard to distinguish between them. Fortunately, it’s a very relaxed and focused sound with shimmering guitars and steady bass lines that allow the album to be enjoyed anywhere and at any time. One listen may not be enough to hook you on Given to the Wild, but after a few plays it becomes hard to resist. Unfortunately it has yet to be distributed in the U.S., but will hopefully be available stateside in the not-too distant future.

Recommended Tracks: “Feel to Follow”, “Forever I’ve Known”, “Pelican”, “Slowly One”