Given to the Wild will infiltrate your musical mind and shake you up leaving you in a dreamy blissful state, underfed and hungry for more. The Maccabees nabbed our hearts in 2007 with their debut, and now they have graced us with their fantastic third album, Given to the Wild.

Having had oodles of time to grow and improve, The Maccabees have bred their own sound, a new sound that ventures into unfamiliar territory. The South London quintet have pushed themselves from electrifying sporadic guitar-heavy soundscapes to an magnificent array of enthralling sounds that establishes an utterly dazzling distinctiveness.

“Child” tenderly ushers you in, supported by sublime liquid riffs and cushioned by a steady bass. As the guitars continue to flicker, Orlando Weeks’ voice softly glows amongst the ambient soundscape. Three minutes into this blissful number, you’re struck by a frenzied tempo, surprising, but brilliant.

The rhythm picks up with “Feel to Follow”, an electrifying number that holds a certain hesitance and emotional wavering in Weeks’ vocals when he asks “how will I ever dare to breathe it when it’s over?” accompanied by quivering guitars until they take over and spiral into something comparable to The Maccabees’ past of thrilling guitar lines.

“Ayla” is sustained by an ebullient piano to a weighty resonant chorus. ‘Glimmer’ does exactly that, it glimmers, whilst ‘Forever I’ve Known’ is a moodier track as Weeks tries to persuade a lover to brush over their problems and continue seeing eachother. He quiveringly proclaims, “I want to see you, it’s not good enough to have you here in my head.” This is an outstanding track, intensifying into distressing attachment then plummeting into an irritated and dissatisfied outburst. Yet the track isn’t over the top in it’s first-class flair, it just deserves wide acclaim.

“Pelican”, the album’s first single, is a peppy and accessible number. Its frenzied pace prods and pokes, enthralling you into a perfect state of dreamy pop. The piano in ‘Went Away’ returns to join forces with Weeks’ voice until a sweet guitar line and bare drums embrace as the vocals plead, “Hold me close, don’t let me go, I need you so.” Not the most innovative song but the mystical guitars, consuming vocals and enclosing drum produce four minutes of brilliance.

The final track, “Grew up at Midnight,” slowly embraces you with affection escalating to a final squeeze with their wistful , misty-eyed parting, before fading away and suddenly halting, leaving you surprised and wanting more.

You can stream the entire album Given To The Wild here:

Given to the Wild has delivered on The Maccabees’ stunning potential. They are a band that continuously develops their music and produces different sounds without losing what that they are all about. It’s a well-structured album, with a scintillating beginning that diverges into evocative and unusual sounds, all the while enticing you and ultimately creating a stratospheric body of work.

Watch: “Grew Up At Midnight”