Toast smiled at all the right people and managed to bring you lovely folk an interview to stave off those January blues. Very early one morning, a shruggish Toast called up Orlando Weeks from The Maccabees and hurled questions at him, just before their gig at Leadmill. Here’s what he threw back.
Penned by Sam Briggs
Toast understands you’re rather busy, let’s crack on and get this out of the way for you.
Yeah, but we don’t have to get it out of the way. That sounds depressing. Let’s have a go at it.
How are you today?
I’m alright. The weather is pretty beautiful. I’ve got a few bits and pieces to do but I’m enjoying it. Yeah, I’m alright today.
Did you always have a particular sound in mind for The Maccabees when you started or did it just evolve?
I think when we started we had an idea of what we wanted to sound like but we had no idea how to do that, so we sort of relied on sound men and producers to help us achieve it. When it wasn’t quite what we were wanting, we were unable to say why or be productive with our criticisms. By now, with this record, I think we’ve got our head around understanding production a bit more. We’re trying to work on everything, like ‘that’s a nice reverb, but it’s not the right reverb’ kinda thing. As a band we’ve always learnt on the job, I think. We’re building a new skill set all the time, which is nice.
You seem to like playing smaller venues. Do you like the intimacy between the crowd and yourself?
I think we just want to play as much as possible now. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big, we just want to play our new songs. We’ve put a lot of work into it and now we’re like kids, we just want to show it off, you know? It’s been a long time in the making, it feels like that work needs a bit of a run around.
Who’s the best band you’ve seen live?
Hmm. I think Interpol are up there. Hmm, yeah [he pauses]. Yeah, Interpol are definitely up there. They’re consistently brilliant. Strokes as well, every time they’ve been better. I saw Battles at Heaven in London and that was pretty extraordinary, they’re amazing. I think just for consistency, though, it’s Interpol. I go to their gigs thinking, ‘they were great last time, I don’t even care if they’re a bit shit tonight.’ But they never are, ever. Incredible live band.
It’s been nearly three years since your last album, why’s this?
Just slowness.
Slowness or laziness?
Nah, not laziness [laughs]. We’ve worked really hard, it’s just been slow and labored, you know? Everything has been thought about, then thought about again, then put to the committee, then thought about again. Nothing is ever quite right, so we do it again and again, everything takes forever. We’re not lazy, just slow.
Wall of Arms was recorded in various cities. Is Given to the Wild the same?
No, just one city and a town for this. We were in Monmouth for a little bit, then just our studio in London. That’s all, this time.
There was a noticeable difference between your first and second album, how does the third compare?
I’d like to think there’s a certain difference again. We don’t let things get stale, just try and make it an entity within itself. We’re not especially trying to be different from the last record, but recognising what we could improve on and what previously felt wrong.
Do you think that’s something other bands could be guilty of, knocking out similar, repetitive albums?
For our band, it’s really important for us to try and do something better each time, but not necessarily different. Some bands are amazing, I kind of envy them sometimes. Take Interpol for instance, they found their aesthetic, their ambience or what ever you want to call it and stuck with it. They’ve evolved and changed but essentially its got a strong Interpol-ness. I think we have something in terms of a recognisible style musically, but every time we write anything we are still exploring and looking for the thing that makes us all comfortable with it. It’s frustrating, but its the way that we are.
Do you have a favourite song off the new album?
Hmm. Playing it live, I think ‘Feel To Follow’ really. It’s just really nice to play out. I’m quite attached to ‘Slowly One’ too, I think that’s worked well. We haven’t figured out how to play it live yet, so when we get that down, I think it’ll be great.
Looking forward to getting back on the road?
Yeah, I can’t wait. Making an album makes you feel like a worthwhile member of society. We’ve put a lot of work into something and produced a product – that’s fulfilling. Then the fun part is you get to travel a bit, play every night, entertain the crowd and feel proud of it.
The Maccabees new album ‘Given to the Wild’ is out January 9th. Toast would say its a change from their last offerings. We have digested it, and it’s not half bad.