It feels like ages ago when The Maccabees returned with third album Given to the Wild, which surprised and enriched me with a loud and immense experience which, even years later, I can still enjoy as much as I did before.
It has been, however, the longest gap between albums for the band and I could only wonder what the band had in-store. Talk of sessions being scrapped and restarted over didn't set the best of foundations, but nonetheless, album four was announced and I couldn't have been happier.
From the singles leading into Marks to Prove It, I imagined the album would be a more back to basics affair. Whilst some of the anthemic quality was present in the title-track and Something Like Happiness, they sounded more akin to Wall of Arms, which was something I could work with since I really liked that album.
Instead, Marks to Prove It is a more ethereal album, utilising more piano and trumpets than ever before and giving the album a bizarre but effective turn into baroque pop with far more experimentation than what was anticipated.
Spit It Out, the only track to break past five minutes is a jangly piano affair with more catchy vocal hooks that wouldn't sound out of place on something like Cherry Ghost or Elbow's back catalogues. Sure it starts off slow, but it quickly builds and somehow, along with Orlando Weeks' distinct vocals, make it a highlight of the album.
The more experimental tracks tend to be much shorter and help craft the record into a much different album from it's predecessors. River Song features wailing horns and acoustic guitars creating a much slower track than the band has produced before whilst the penultimate track Pioneering Systems utilises strings and backing vocals to create a short, sweet and at times, haunting track that sounds part-triumphant and part-tragic.
Of course those who want, nay, demand a return to catchy indie rock won't be disappointed. The title-track is a deceitful opener for the rest of the album but a great one nonetheless. Kamakura which follows-up is longer and more dramatic, a easy-on-the-ears beat builds for the explosive choruses of drowned guitars and more catchy vocals.
Slow Sun reminds me of Forever I've Known but lacks the explosive second half of that track and instead ups the tempo at the middle and retains it, whilst decent, it feels like a missed opportunity and sadly, one that has been done better.
Something Like Happiness however, more than makes up for it. I very rarely wish for tracks to be longer, but the band could have added more to this and I wouldn't have minded. Easily the highlight of the album and incorporating the new sound along with everything from before that made the band an underrated highlight on the music scene.
As fourth albums go, whilst it does take a couple of listens from top to bottom to really appreciate it, Marks to Prove It is another great outing from the band and one that can easily sit with the rest of their back catalogue.
It doesn't overstay it's welcome as Given to the Wild does nor is it too samey as Wall of Arms and Colour It In and, most surprisingly of all, it showcases more evolution for the band but still sounds distinctly like The Maccabees, even beneath all the brass and forest settings.
For fans, there's little reason not to grab the album immediately, but for anyone who wants a great baroque pop album with some hard turns to rock, there's very little to fault with the album which, after over a three year absence, proves The Maccabees are a band to watch out for, after all, they have the Marks to Prove It.
...
Sorry.
8/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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