Whilst 2011’s major theme was hype, 2012 looks set to continue the trend. We have Lady Gaga already in the middle of writing a no-doubt major selling follow-up to the long, tiresome Born This Way. Muse have again promised a radical change for their sixth album and with The Killers, Bloc Party and Animal Collective marking the year their returns; it looks set to be another year of huge, heavily hyped releases and the usual batch of mediocre rubbish.
So, where does 2012’s really start? It already has kids and it’s a somewhat surprising source.
Given to the Wild is the third album released by indie darlings The Maccabees and by golly, it’s, for the most part, an enjoyable romp that leaves me terrified. Terrified that one of the year’s better albums has been released at the start of the year, leaving its rivals playing catch-up.
It’s a vastly different creature from The Maccabees’ debut Colour Me In and the tighter follow-up Wall of Arms. Whilst those two albums sounded fragile, craving intimacy with the sporadic yet satisfying bursts of vibrancy; Given to the Wild, for all intents and purposes is the manic summer road trip. Incredibly loud, but never losing its sense of belonging and keeping the same intimacy in its quieter moments.
The album opens with a two minute coda aptly titled Given to the Wild which carries into Child which, with a slow, burning beginning, transforms into a dazzling carnival-esq with trumpets and strong back guitar which song eerily reminiscent of The Killers with Bones and several songs during the Day and Age era.
Following up is Feel to Follow which is probably as close as the band gets to reverting back to the sounds of yesteryear. It has a really nice use of guitar in the second half and Orlando Weeks carries the song in its quieter verses.
The album slows down a tad with Ayla; a piano based pop song with “single” written all over it and Glimmer; a soft and gentle pop-rock song with a steady and pleasant beat with anthemic guitars never going overboard in the background.
The middle section of album kicks the album up a notch and is by far, the best moments of the album in a trilogy of songs. Forever I’ve Known is the longest track of the album and is an epic beast, slow to start, but transforms into a wonderful two minutes of fantastic guitar rock with Weeks lamenting on a lost cause, despite knowing the gravity of the situation for far longer.
The song fades into Heave which, again, a slow burn turns the song into something that’s sounds similar to Foals with backing synths that sound an awful lot like Who Wants to Live Forever?. Somehow, it works, really, really well and is by far the saddest sounding song on the album.
Thankfully trilogy ends with a bang courtesy of lead single Pelican. With a rhythm guitar that would make Ennio Morricone proud, the lyrics discuss life on the edge with repeated phrases that are easy on the ears. If there’s a formula for making a track that earns it’s place on an indie club playlist; Pelican surely has most, if not all the right traits.
But like all good things, the trilogy of songs ends and the album keeps going. Sadly it never really reaches the incredible highs before it. There’s a few flashes of new sounds like Go, which has an electronic drum beat and brief moments of something more and a great guitar riff which makes the song sound like Wake Up by Arcade Fire meets Zephyrus by Bloc Party. Unknow also has electronic influences with high tempo soundscapes and backing synths but Weeks vocals and the ever important rhythm guitar let the song breathe and not sound too out of place.
By the time the album ends with Grew up at Midnight; a celebration that incorporates all the previous sounds and themes into one loud, happy send off, I was thrilled that the band had made something so vastly different yet so familiar that it didn’t make the album a difficult play through.
The only flaw Given to the Wild honestly has is; it’s far too long. As noted before, the album slows down in the first third which is ok as it allows some breathing space. The problem lies after Pelican where it keeps going and does drag.
While there’s nothing particularly wrong these songs (if anything, the electronic changes show more creativity and variation), it’s just, the album peaks at the middle and sadly doesn’t finish on the potential, huge high and ultimately, it falls down to the final third.
It’s a shame as with a bit of trimming, the album would have been shorter but ultimately sweeter. But this is a small nitpick in an otherwise brilliant follow-up by a band whose musical aspiration is showcased in an awe-inspiring, creative piece of work that up’s the ante ten fold but still retains the likable elements that made them so endearing before.
It’s difficult to say how the Given to the Wild will stand by the end of the year, but for now, musician’s take note, you’re now playing catch-up with a majestic, epic and wonderful journey. One that’ll you’ll put on repeat, many, many times.
8/10
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