The Maccabees - Wall of Arms

The astute amongst you may have noticed that i've let a few posts go by without actually mentioning the album of the day. No, this is not an oversight on my part, and all will be revealed in good time. In the words of the great man John Bongiovi ( yes this is his real name, look it up ) you gotta keep the faith. So my good friend Dick Kingsmill told me that if i like Arcade Fire then I'll love the Maccabees. Immediately this puts me on the back foot because from the first bar of the first song all i can hear is Arcade fire and from lead singer Orlando Weeks first quivering, sighing vocals all i'm getting is Win Butler. Add to that the fact that the album has the same producer as Arcade Fire's Neon Bible and really my judgement on this whole album is going to be clouded. Not that i need to pass judgement, hey i'm just here to listen, not to review so i take a step back, i empty my mind of all these thoughts ( not hard when your mind is pretty empty to start with ) and i give this album another unclouded listen. What i find is some great music in its own right, a coming of age from a band previously lost in the sea of british indie, it's gloomy without being mundane, it's certainly the style of arcade fire, moody ambience, strings and brass, passionate lyrics, and choral reprises; and like Arcade fire remains upbeat for the most part. The opener 'Love you better' is a cracking start that locks you into focus for the first 5 or 6 songs, the closing tracks "seventeen hands" and "bag of bones" wind down the album in a way that makes you reach for the repeat button for another listen. Is it to early to start talking album of the year? this'll be in my top 10 at least.