I don’t think we ever thought we’d sound like this ‘I
The Maccabees toiled for almost three years on new record, Marks To Prove I t. One listen shows it was time well spent. Although, as ANDY WELCH discovers, frontman Orlando Weeks still can’t help wanting to tinker with it
’ VE done nerves,” says The Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks. “Now it’s just waiting and excitement.”
He’s referring to the band’s fourth album, Marks To Prove It, out today. He and bandmates Hugo and Felix White, Rupert Jarvis and Sam Doyle worked on the album for two-and-a-half years, so it’s understandable that Orlando isn’t that nervous about its release. He’s had plenty of time for that, as well as every other emotion, along the way.
“It’s natural when you’re working on something for so long to lose sight of what you’re trying to do, or to have a dip in motivation,” he says.
“But that’s the great thing about having five of us in the band. It might mean there are five opinions to wade through, and as a result, everything takes five times as long to do anything.
“But when one of us is having a dip, there are four people to say: ‘No, come on, it’s great’ and keep things going.”
In truth, the band should be crowing from the rooftops about Marks To Prove It. Their third record, Given To The Wild, released in 2012, was a big move on in terms of sound and scale for the band, and was easily one of the best albums of that year.
Marks To Prove It, while nowhere near as big and grandiose as that album, is another leap again, and when 2015 comes to a close, The Maccabees will definitely be featuring among the best records of the year lists, once again.
“We work quite slowly,” says Orlando. “And I’m quite sure we could’ve all made albums on our own in the time, maybe two each, but it wouldn’t be a Maccabees record if that were the case.
“It has to be all five of us, doing everything, working together.
“We didn’t want to spend this long making a record, and after about eight months of working we thought we’d got it, but we realised it wasn’t that different from the previous album, and where with Given To The Wild we’d wanted that big, massive sound, this time around, we thought it was a bit naff.”
The Londoners released their debut, Colour It In, in 2007; a spiky, angular set of songs that was heavily influenced by the likes of XTC, Magazine and early Blur.
It was a perfectly enjoyable album, but there was a distinct impression The Maccabees were holding themselves back and not stretching out as they did on 2009 follow-up, Wall Of Arms.
Produced by Markus Dravs, who had worked with Bjork, Coldplay and Arcade Fire, the latter being the album’s most obvious influence, it showed the band were growing in confidence, and better able to articulate how they wanted to sound.
Looking back, Orlando says: “When we started, we’d say things like ‘We want it to sound watery, but with a bit more punch to it’, to a producer. We soon got better at asking for specific sounds and moods. We’ve got our heads around production, basically.
“Well, Felix has. He produced this new album. I still don’t know anything, and if I’m honest, I don’t really know what reverb is.”
The desire to get better, and as a result, never repeat themselves, is one of the reasons Orlando believes the band have lasted as long as they have.
“We’ve never wanted to make an album that sounded like our last. What would be the point of that?
“I don’t know if we ever thought we’d make two albums, let alone four. We were just excited to be signed to a record label and be making our first,” Orlando says.
“But we have got so much better, and we’re much more aware of our own abilities. And we’re so much more confident now, we can get closer to the thing that we envisage.
“As for how we sound now, I don’t think we ever thought we’d end up sounding the way we do now,” he says. “This isn’t the music we imagined when we were young or anything like that, it’s been a very gradual thing getting to this point.”
Despite the pride Orlando has for Marks To Prove It, he says if he could, he’d still go back and change everything on the album.
“I would tinker and tinker,” he says. “That’s not because I don’t like it, it’s because we’re always moving on and an album should capture what you were doing at the time. But I know I can’t change anything – I’d have to get past four other people before I could anyway.”
His attention has now turned to radio sessions promoting the album, a trip to the US, festivals, and his 32nd birthday in August, which he’s celebrating by walking across Transylvania.
“Dracula country,” he says, laughing. “We have a festival, then five days off, then another in Budapest, so I’m going to walk part of the way. I didn’t like turning 30, but 31 was a good year for me. I’m hoping 32 will be even better.”
With a brilliant new album, festivals all over the world and a year-long tour, he’s unlikely to be disappointed.
The Maccabees’ fourt h album, Marks To Prove It is out now. They tour the UK in t he autumn, and play Stopover Festival, Gentlemen Of The Road, in Aviemore on August 1, and Leeds and Reading fest ivals on August 28 and 30 respectively.