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The Maccabees (band)

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For other uses, see Maccabees (disambiguation).
The Maccabees
OriginBrighton, England
GenresIndie Rock
Years active2004–present
LabelsFiction Records
Fierce Panda Records
MembersOrlando Weeks
Hugo White
Felix White
Rupert Jarvis
Sam Doyle
Past membersRobert Dylan Thomas
WebsiteOfficial website

The Maccabees are an indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released three albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009. Their most recent album Given to the Wild was released on 9 January 2012.

Name

The band came up with the name by flicking through the Bible and picking out a random word.[1] Despite adopting a name with religious connotations, lead singer Orlando Weeks has more recently affirmed, in an interview on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 1 show, that none of the band is religious. Their lyrics often include an atheistic theme, in particular their second album's title track, "Wall of Arms" and "All in Your Rows" from their debut album.

Music career

2007–2009: Colour It In

Their debut single, "X-Ray", was released on Promise records on 28 November 2005, and received some evening play on London radio station Xfm London. They received little significant exposure, however, until six months later, when they released their second single, "Latchmere", the subject of which is the wave machine at the Latchmere Leisure Centre in Battersea, South London,[2] on Fierce Panda Records in April 2006. This was championed by Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and received airtime on MTV2. The video, directed by Hugh Frost and Samuel Bebbington, also proved an internet hit after it was posted on YouTube.

The band are currently signed to major label Fiction Records, and released their début album Colour It In in May 2007. Because an early copy of the album appeared on the New York Times website, Colour It In became available to download exclusively from iTunes on 16 December, before its physical release on 14 May, in an effort to combat the leak. The single "First Love" was their first to chart in the UK top 40, and was followed by "About Your Dress", which peaked at No. 33. Their album fared much better, which was released to positive reviews, and charted at No. 24. They then toured the USA with fellow indie group Bloc Party. A full UK tour followed from October 2007, culminating in a sell-out show at the Roundhouse venue in London.

During late 2007, Samsung used the track "Toothpaste Kisses" in its advert campaign for its SGH-G800 mobile phone.

2009–2010: Wall of Arms

On the run-up to the release of their second album, the band played two new songs to Steve Lamacq on his "In New Music We Trust" show on Radio 1 in May 2008, "No Kind Words" and "Young Lions". The band also played a string of small venues in the UK to test out new songs, in March and April 2008. The Maccabees performed at Offset Festival in London as well the Underage Festival in August 2008.

On Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show in February 2009, Felix confirmed the name of the follow-up album to be Wall of Arms, an announcement that coincided with the release of the free downloadable track, "No Kind Words". On 16 March, Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq played the band's first single from Wall of Arms entitled Love You Better, the video to which was posted exclusively on ClashMusic.com on 27 March.[3]

Wall of Arms was released on 4 May 2009. It entered the UK albums chart at No.13 and received positive reviews with the NME giving the album 8/10.[4] At the end of the year, Artrocker made the album joint No.1 Album of 2009 along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "It's Blitz!".

The band performed at NewcastleGateshead's Evolution Festival on 25 May 2009. They finished their set with "Love You Better". They played before The View and after Little Boots on the Spillers Wharf Stage.

In July 2009, second single "Can You Give It" was released. The Maccabees invited the Dodworth Colliery Band[5] of Barnsley to record a rousing brass version of the single for the B-side.[6] The Guardian interviewed Orlando and Felix during the recording session.[7] The accompanying video[8] for "Can You Give It" was filmed at the infamous Coopers Hill annual cheese rolling race[9] in Gloucestershire.

Other performances in 2009 include Reading and Leeds Festivals on Friday 28th and Saturday 29 August respectively and Little Noise Sessions on 16 November.

On 3 October 2009, the five-piece band played a gig at Brixton Academy to finish off their Wall of Arms tour. The band pulled in a huge crowd for their homecoming show at the O2, as well as a brass section for many of their songs as they performed their entire 2009 album and a host of tracks from their 2007 debut Colour It In. During the set Felix White declared the Academy as 'the best venue in the world'.[10] The Guardian ran a five star live review of the gig.[11]

In November 2009, The Maccabees collaborated with rapper Roots Manuva on a heady re-working of Wall of Arms album track and live favourite "No Kind Words". The track, newly titled "Empty Vessels", features new lyrics and vocals from fellow south Londoner Roots. It was debuted on Zane Lowe's evening show on Radio One on 11 November. The single release of "Empty Vessels" was made available on iTunes from 24 November 2009 on Fiction Records.[12]

The Maccabees were named as headlines for the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2010 with Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums in February 2010.[13]

2010–present: Given to the Wild

The Maccabees debuted new song "Child" in Brighton in August 2010, as well as playing the Main Stage at the Reading & Leeds festival 2010, debuting new song titled "Forever I've Known", displaying what seems to be a darker, deeper sound for the band.

They played new songs "Child", "Feel to Follow", "Pelican", "Ayla", "Went Away", "Forever I've Known" and "Grew Up at Midnight" at The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth on 8 August 2011.

On 4 October 2011, the band announced via their blog that their third album, Given to the Wild, will be released 9 January 2012.[14]

The first single from the album will be "Pelican", it was first played on 15 November 2011 on BBC Radio 1 by Zane Lowe. It has since been uploaded to YouTube as an audio, along with its release date of 9 January 2012.[15]

It was released on 9 January 2012 to very favourable reviews, it currently holds a score of 72 on Metacritic, a site that averages out critics reviews.[16]

The album was at No. 1 on the midweek chart update, at the end of the week it debuted No. 4 on the UK Album Chart, the highest Maccabees release to date there.[17]

On 12 September 2012 the album was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize. On 24 October 2012 the album was certified gold in the UK.

Members

Current members
  • Orlando Weeks – vocals (2004–present)
  • Hugo White – guitars (2004–present)
  • Felix White – guitars, backing vocals (2004–present)
  • Rupert Jarvis – bass (2004–present)
  • Sam Doyle – drums (2008–present)
Touring members
  • Will White – keyboards and samplers (2010–present)
Former members
  • Robert Dylan Thomas – drums (2004–2008)

Discography

Main article: The Maccabees discography

References

  1. ^ "Talking Shop: The Maccabees". BBC Entertainment. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  2. ^ "NME Album Reviews – The Maccabees: Colour It In". Nme.Com. 27 April 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Maccabees Video Exclusive | Clash Music Exclusive Video". Clashmusic.com. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. ^ "NME Album Reviews – Album review: The Maccabees". Nme.Com. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Dodworth Colliery MW Brass Band". Dodworthcollieryband.co.uk. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Download the Maccabees and the Dodworth Colliery Band". The Guardian. London. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  7. ^ Barton, Laura (7 July 2009). "Where there's Maccabees there's brass". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Can You Give It (Exclusive Brand New Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  9. ^ "The Official & Only Authoritative Site Of Cheese Rolling At Coopers Hill In Gloucestershire". Cheese-rolling.co.uk. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  10. ^ "The Maccabees play the 'best gig' of their lives in London | News". Nme.Com. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  11. ^ Gittins, Ian (5 October 2009). "The Maccabees". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  12. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, Big Pink, Drums for Shockwaves NME Awards Tour | News". Nme.Com. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  14. ^ "The Maccabees Blog – "Given to the Wild" Released 9th January". Themaccabees.tumblr.com. 1 March 1994. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  15. ^ "The Maccabees – Pelican (Official Audio)". YouTube. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  16. ^ vermas. "Given to the Wild Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Radio 1 – Chart – The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". BBC. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
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