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Album Reviews
Album Review: The Maccabees – Wall Of Arms (Fiction)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 4 May 2009
When embarking on their sophomore album, The Maccabees made a bold decision and recruited producer Markus Dravs to help focus their musical identity into something fresh and contemporary. This appears to be a wise choice and one that is validated as the album unfolds. Dravs helped to create Arcade Fire’s ‘Neon Bible’, of course, and has clearly left his mark, because The Maccabees musical evolution edges their sound a bit closer to that of the Canada-based baroque pop combo. The trademark tremolo picking and staccato guitar remain, but it is used with increasing effectiveness here, bringing rhythm and drive where it is needed. Brass also makes a notable appearance on this record, adding a further dimension to the group’s tweaked sound. The two singles released already, ‘Love You Better’ and ‘No Kind Words’, seem like trespassers in an album that at times recalls The Annuals or Sufjan Stevens’ multi-instrument, harmony laden folk. The two singles are much darker in comparison, but when one listens to the album in its entirety their darkness is a soothing counterpoint and is a reminder of The Maccabees’ complexity. Orlando Weeks’ vocal remains a focal point, and none more so than on ‘Bag Of Bones’ where his heartfelt and sombre timbre is well balanced among a complement of instruments. Indeed it is his powerful vocal that is characteristic of The Maccabees sound, at once carefree and spirited but with a breadth of soul that keeps them from stagnating. SJS
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