In London, it is a grim and grey winter afternoon; frost hugs the windows and passers-by grimace at the cold. Elsewhere, ‘somewhere between Spain and France’ Hugo White, of heartthrobs The Maccabees wakes up to the sight of a garage forecourt and a telephone call from Gobshout. It’s been a hectic journey for the South London 4-piece—In the midst of their whistle-stop tour supporting Editors around Europe, their new single ‘Empty Vessels’ (a collaboration with Roots Manuva) hits the music press, bringing with it a barrage of hype and hotly-tipped anticipation.

The whole process for the single was ‘a bit of a dream’, Hugo recalls. Some throwaway comments from Felix about wanting to work with the ‘amazing’ man himself, led to a personal call, a year later, from Roots Manuva agreeing to collaboration. Fast-forward some weeks to Roots turning up at the studio ‘on his bicycle’ to lay down the vocals on the pre-written track, and a song, nay, hit was borne. No fat, no entourage, just good old-fashioned musical experimentation.

Perhaps it’s for this reason that The Maccabees have retained some of the ‘cool’ credentials their contemporaries quickly lost in the heady days of Thamesbeat. In a scene eager to rubbish popularity and success, the Maccabees have managed to keep their heads above water, but it’s been a slow process. ‘A lot of the bands at the time got hyped by the press to a point beyond where they actually were, and it catches up with you don’t it?’

 ‘I think we sort of managed to avoid it, well we didn’t manage to avoid it, we just didn’t get that kind of hype behind us; it helped us to maintain just building up a steady crowd’. This is true in parts. Whilst The Maccabees might not have received the hype in traditional music press, they certainly had a large and powerful internet presence, which in light of the Arctic Monkeys, cannot be underestimated. 

Indeed, the fact of the matter is, The Maccabees are a band who have achieved huge success over a very short period of time. Formed only in 2004, with their first release in 2005 their rise was quick. Yet it was healthy, and enjoyed the stages needed for a growing band to maintain their grip on reality. ‘Some bands they skip stages and it’s all from that’ Hugo says. ‘Every gig we ever did, we started to play to ten people, then twenty then thirty, then a hundred, then a hundred and fifty and then three hundred all the way up to where we are now. Other bands, they get played loads on the radio, then play to a hundred people one week, and the next week they’re playing to thousands of people’.
   
It therefore comes as no surprise to hear that the group still have their eyes on the prize, and are keeping cool under the pressure to deliver- ‘We just really need to push ourselves to make something good and just not take to long about it… we’re going to make a cut-off point and start writing a new record and just make sure its amazing’. A passing joke about The Maccabees not going dubstep is well received- a gentle reminder that the band are not about fads but sincerity. Yet it’s another passing, and somewhat lament-heavy comment about ‘pop’s massive comeback’ in the current industry that makes me wonder quite where the boys position themselves as musicians. After all, with their simple melodic structure, catchy hooks and 4/4 rhythm, The Maccabees are in fact pop through and through, but with a charm and innocence long lost from the chart’s offerings. To many, this is the main force of their attraction, despite the pejorative nature of the word ‘pop’.
    
Whatever the case The Maccabees are a band difficult to be offended by, and whether you like their music or not, they are sure to win many hearts- particularly in the wake of their gleefully received headline slot on the NME Awards Tour. Regaling me with delightful stories of go-karting with Editors  during their tour respites, and not rising to my tongue-in-cheek comments about these companions (‘Do they actually think they’re Joy Division?’) only serves to reaffirm your impression of the band through their music: sincere, simple and fun. What’s not to like?
    





Words by Coco Khan

Posted In Features, Mar 05 2010. Words - Gobshout Team 2