Given to the Wild

2012 studio album by The Maccabees
Given to the Wild
Studio album by
The Maccabees
Released9 January 2012
RecordedRockfield Studios, Monmouthshire
Genre
  • Indie rock
  • alternative rock
  • art rock
  • progressive rock
Length52:51
Label
  • Fiction
  • Polydor
Producer
  • The Maccabees
  • Tim Goldsworthy
  • Bruno Ellingham
  • Jag Jago
The Maccabees chronology
Wall of Arms
(2009) 		Given to the Wild
(2012) 		Marks to Prove It
(2015)
Singles from Given to the Wild
  1. "Pelican"
    Released: 30 December 2011
  2. "Feel to Follow"
    Released: 3 February 2012
  3. "Went Away"
    Released: 28 May 2012
  4. "Ayla"
    Released: 10 September 2012

Given to the Wild is the third studio album by English indie rock band The Maccabees. The album was first released in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2012,[1] where it debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and number thirty-one on the Irish Albums Chart. The album has seen four single releases: "Pelican" (released on 30 December 2011), "Feel to Follow" (4 March 2012), "Went Away" (28 May 2012), and "Ayla" (10 September 2012).

Reception

Metacritic has calculated a Metascore of 69 out of 100 for the album,[2] based on 20 reviews, giving the album "generally favourable reviews". NME gave the album a 9/10.[3]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash(9/10)[5]
The Guardian[6]
Drowned in Sound(7/10)[7]
The Times
NME(9/10)
The Fly(9/10)
The Upcoming[8]
The Music Service[9]
Pop 'stache[10]
Pitchfork(4.0/10)[11]

The album was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize.

Recording

The band worked on the 13-track album, their third, at Rockfield Studios with Tim Goldsworthy and Bruno Ellingham (LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack) over late 2010 to 2011. They also worked on large parts of the record with producer Jag Jago at their rehearsal space in London's Elephant and Castle district before decamping to Suffolk to finish the record at Decoy Studios with Cenzo Townshend and Sean Julliard.

The band have said they took inspiration from "disparate musical peers" such as The Stone Roses, Kate Bush and David Bowie during the recording of the LP, which is the follow-up to 2009's Wall of Arms.

Speaking about the title of the album, singer Orlando Weeks told the NME: "'Given to the wild' is the first line on the album and was a title idea we had pretty early on. But it wasn't until we'd finished recording that we could come back to it and know that it suited, it just felt right."[12]

Singles

  • "Pelican" was released as the album's lead single on 30 December 2011. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 87. It appeared in the video game Forza Horizon.
  • "Feel to Follow" was released on 3 February 2012. The song peaked to number 188 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Went Away", the third single from Given to the Wild, was released on 28 May 2012.
  • "Ayla" was the fourth single to be released on 10 September 2012.[13]

Other songs

  • The song "Unknow" appeared in the 2012 video games Sleeping Dogs and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
  • The song "Give to the Wild (Intro)" appeared in Series 21 - Episode 6 of Top Gear
  • The song "Grew Up at Midnight" appeared at the end of the final scene in the film Steve Jobs.

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Maccabees.

No.TitleLength
1."Given to the Wild (Intro)"2:11
2."Child"4:31
3."Feel to Follow"3:29
4."Ayla"3:47
5."Glimmer"4:03
6."Forever I've Known"5:21
7."Heave"4:24
8."Pelican"3:44
9."Went Away"3:38
10."Go"4:12
11."Unknow (featuring Catherine Pockson)"5:07
12."Slowly One"4:17
13."Grew Up at Midnight"4:00
Total length:52:51

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[14]

The Maccabees

  • Orlando Weeks – vocals (all tracks), guitar (all tracks)
  • Felix White – guitar (all tracks)
  • Hugo White – guitar (all tracks)
  • Rupert Jarvis – bass guitar (all tracks)
  • Sam Doyle - drums (all tracks)

Technical

  • Felix White – production (all tracks)
  • Hugo White – production (all tracks)
  • Orlando Weeks – production (all tracks)
  • Rupert Jarvis – production (all tracks)
  • Sam Doyle – production (all tracks)
  • Bruno Ellingham (all tracks), recording engineer (all tracks)
  • Tim Goldsworthy (all tracks), recording engineer (all tracks)
  • Prabjote Osahn - recording engineer (7, 12, 13)
  • Tom Dalgety - assistant recording engineer (all tracks)
  • John Davis - mastering engineer (all tracks)
  • Sean Juilliard - assistant engineer (all tracks)
  • Cenzo Townshend - mixer (all tracks)

Additional musicians

  • Jack Birchwood - horn (2, 4, 5, 13)
  • Nick Carter - horn (2, 4, 5, 13)
  • Tom Stone - horn (2, 4, 5, 13)
  • Darren Morris - piano (2, 3, 5)
  • Will White - keyboards (4, 8, 9, 11)
  • Prabjote Osahn - string arranger (7, 12, 13), violin (7, 12, 13)

Artwork

  • Andy Goldsworthy – cover photo
  • Go De Jong – design, layout
  • Tom Oxley - inlay photography

Chart performance

On 12 January 2012 Given to the Wild entered the Irish Albums Chart at number 31.

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[15] 92
Dutch Albums Chart[16] 57
Irish Albums Chart[17] 31
UK Albums Chart[18] 4

References

  1. ^ "The Maccabees - 'Given to the Wild' - Digital Download". iTunes (UK). 6 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Given to the Wild by the Maccabees". Metacritic.
  3. ^ "The Maccabees - 'Given to the Wild'". NME. 6 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Given to the Wild by the Maccabees". Metacritic.
  5. ^ "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild | Clash Music Latest Album Review". Clashmusic.com. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  6. ^ Alexis Petridis (5 January 2012). "The Maccabees: Given to the Wild – review | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  7. ^ Gourlay, Dom (4 January 2012). "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Album review: The Maccabees - Given to the Wild". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Album review: The Maccabees - Given to the Wild". Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  10. ^ "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild Album Review for Pop 'stache". 26 January 2012.
  11. ^ "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild Review". Pitchfork.
  12. ^ "The Maccabees announce new album title, tracklisting and release date". Nme. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  13. ^ "WATCH: The Maccabees unveil 'Ayla' video | Clixie - the Best in New Music". Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Given to the Wild". Tidal. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  15. ^ "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild". ultratop.be/nl/.
  16. ^ "The Maccabees - Given to the Wild". dutchcharts.nl/. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  17. ^ "GFK Chart-Track". Chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  18. ^ "2012-01-21 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
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The Maccabees
  • Orlando Weeks
  • Felix White
  • Hugo White
  • Rupert Jarvis
  • Sam Doyle
  • Robert Dylan Thomas
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