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9.0
35796
9.0 |
Clash
Given the time to explore and expand, this quintet have proven themselves to be something very special. I have seen the future of dreamy pop, and its name is The Maccabees
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9.0
35797
9.0 |
NME
The album is beautifully structured, leading from spare and shimmery beginnings into harder, weirder and more varied territories
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9.0
35994
9.0 |
The Fly
A truly wonderful record. Impressively diverse but united by a strain of quintessentially Maccabeean hopeless hopefulness
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8.5
36025
8.5 |
The 405
What this album has done is to raise expectations in the band everywhere
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8.5
35844
8.5 |
BBC
If only all bands had the guts and honesty of The Maccabees, maybe they’d get round to making third records as good as this
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8.3
49334
8.3 |
AltSounds
The way The Maccabees play together as a unit is remarkable, with each musician shining through in the right way, never overstepping his mark, tastefully playing and tastefully not playing
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8.0
38530
8.0 |
State
A musical journey, placing The Maccabees at the top of England’s best rock acts list
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8.0
37310
8.0 |
Rave Magazine
A collection of delicate and cohesive songs that demonstrate their growth and maturation as an ensemble
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8.0
37940
8.0 |
FasterLouder
Although the album does suffer a slight slump in the middle and its sentimentality can become slightly overbearing this album is an overwhelmingly positive step in The Maccabees’ evolution
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8.0
35950
8.0 |
DIY
Like previous offerings, it’s another wealthy reminder of the Maccabees’ promise. Not the finished article, but as close as the (still) youthful band are likely to come at this stage
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8.0
35848
8.0 |
The Guardian
An album that bucks a trend rather than starts one: an elegant and unexpected leave-taking from the indie landfill
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8.0
35865
8.0 |
Evening Standard
In truth, this is more of a step leftwards than boldly into arena rock territory. But it's all the more interesting and commendable for that. Wherever they go next, it will be worth following
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8.0
35800
8.0 |
Q
There's imagination and flair at work here. Print edition only
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8.0
36082
8.0 |
Daily Telegraph
This is the sort of baroque pop that works perfectly at festivals and on adverts, but which succeeds just as well on record
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8.0
35873
8.0 |
Independent on Sunday
There are no standout songs but that's kind of the point: GTTW washes over you like a cooling stream on a hot day
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7.8
36236
7.8 |
Beats Per Minute
It’s their breakthrough album and shows that with focus and confidence, the future could be pretty exciting for The Maccabees
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7.0
37951
7.0 |
PopMatters
By exploiting the tensions between pop bliss and rock catharsis instead of opting for new millennial British rock’s standard options of either lighter-swaying populism or overhyped indie un-ambition, the band concocts an approach that injects life into the flagging UK alternative scene
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7.0
35883
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The band’s best work to date, proves that although the Maccabees might not yet have found their own unique voice, they still have something to offer
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7.0
35915
7.0 |
Entertainment.ie
This could well be the album that The Maccabees have been trying to make since 2007
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7.0
36208
7.0 |
The Quietus
A giving and lambent album, Given to the Wild is resolutely The Maccabees best
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7.0
35801
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
If points were awarded for bravery, Given To The Wild would score 10/10 hands down. However, despite signifying a healthy progression in many ways, it simply isn't the stone cold classic The Maccabees are so desperately striving for
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6.0
35930
6.0 |
The Scotsman
The kind of album that wants you to feel its importance without ever really delivering the goods
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6.0
36545
6.0 |
The Irish Times
There are enough smart art-rock ideas and anthemic guitar-pop songs to keep the home fires burning
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6.0
35799
6.0 |
Mojo
While there are striking curiosities, it's hard not to wish for more, or less. Print edition only
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5.0
35881
5.0 |
musicOMH
The heart-thumping energy of their first records is not in evidence, and Given To The Wild feels like a wasted opportunity
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4.0
35798
4.0 |
Uncut
Sounds like British Sea Power without the esoteric charm, which is hardly the heartiest recommendations. Print edition only
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4.0
35870
4.0 |
The Observer
A finely wrought, grown-up, epic, emotional sound that can only be described as… the sound of Coldplay
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4.0
35854
4.0 |
The Independent
The Maccabees appear to be pursuing that well-trodden course where ambitions shift over from the artistic to the commercial realm
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4.0
37242
4.0 |
Pitchfork
The personalities on this album are so blank the songs may as well be performed by apps, and sung by Siri
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