Formed in 2003, the five piece from South London (singer Orlando Weeks, bassist Rupert Jarvis, guitarists Felix and Hugo White and drummer Sam Doyle) are enjoying a year full of career highs. Their third studio album Given To The Wild, a sprawling masterpiece of distorted pop, psychedelia and soulful guitar soundscapes was a top five hit in the UK and includes a string of hit singles in ‘Pelican’, ‘Feel To Follow’ and ‘Ayla’.
As well as garnering commercial success with gold certified sales, Given To The Wild was also a huge critical success on release and more recently was nominated as one of the albums of the year in the prestigious Mercury Music Prize Award. Following on from their acclaimed debut, Colour It In, which included fan favourites ‘First Love’ and ‘Precious Time’ and the progressive sound of their 2010 sophomore release ‘Wall Of Arms’, ‘Given To The Wild’ is the band’s most adventurous work to date.
Recorded in their London rehearsal space – that they later discovered had been previously christened ‘The Drugstore’ by its former owners The Jesus and Mary Chain – Given To The Wild has gone from humble beginnings to being performed at sold out shows at London’s historic Alexandra Palace, Brixton Academy and a memorable headliner performance at Reading & Leeds Festival. Taking sonic inspiration from a disparate collection of musical peers such as The Stone Roses, Kate Bush, The Clash, Talk Talk and David Bowie, critics and fans alike recognise that The Maccabees are in the prime of their musical lives and have made what many consider to be the album of 2012.
