The Electric Ballroom is a sea of bright and shiny young things in dark-rimmed specs wriggling past and bashing shoulders with an older contingent to get a better spot. Bland pop blares out of the speakers as all await the arrival of Brighton lovelies The Maccabees, who released decidedly darker second album ‘Wall of Arms’ (REVIEW) the day before.
Any pretence of too-cool-to-smile is dropped as the last roadie leaves the stage to make way for the band to bound on, full of beans. The whole audience leans forward, tripping over themselves, anticipation rising. There’s no time for greetings, instead it’s straight into the “hello, hello, hello” of moody free download ‘No Kind Words’. Everyone joins in, spitting back the chorus, much to grinning guitarist Felix White’s delight.
Frontman Orlando Weeks is the calm in the eye of the storm. For all his boyish looks, it’s his old-time crooner vocals that hold the urgency of The Maccabees together. ‘Can You Give It’ captures their trademark balance of restrained emotion and frenzied passion perfectly, surely a contender for the next single. The earnest ‘Kiss And Resolve’ melts teenage hearts before a suitably hyped crowd joins Weeks in a duet for lonesome lullaby favourite ‘Toothpaste Kisses’. The contrast is striking. With Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs at the helm, ‘Wall of Arms’ has a quiet-loud intensity and a brooding depth that sits more comfortably that lighter material. And both band and crowd know it.
Not know for his on-stage chat, Weeks’ voice seems to crack as he proclaims it amazing that everyone cares so much about the new songs already, despite the album only being out a day. Bless, he must have forgotten about the internet. He takes a back seat for B-side ‘Accordion Song’, handing over to White who leads the raucous ditty with cockney aplomb. It’s late, but hands clap and feet stamp imploringly for an encore. The reward: achingly beautiful current single ‘Love You Better’. Which, by the end of such an impassioned gig, there isn’t a soul who doesn’t.
Words: Ruth Saxelby
Photo: Charlotte Hoole
