Marks To Prove It by The Maccabees

Marks To Prove It is the fourth full length album from indie underdogs The Maccabees who have been creating some of the best indie rock that the UK has to offer since 2007. This album has been three years in the making and it is the result of a band who have worked harder than most to create a sound that is evolved but still explicitly them. Marks To Prove It is far from the sound of the band's earliest effort, Colour It In, but just as that album in 2007 proved them worthy of adoration, this album does exactly the same.

Title track and album opener Marks To Prove It is the sound of a band we are familiar with. There are obvious melodies carried from their previous albums and it grabs you by the heartstrings right from the get go. As that buoyant melody becomes Kamakura, you're left with less of the old and more of the new as Orlando's soft voice washes over you in a song that is as visceral as The Maccabees have ever been. By the time Silence is reached, this band becomes less recognisable. The vocals change and the melody depleats into something more fragile. It's not quite what we're used to but it's an insight into where this band can go and how they have matured since 2013's Given To The Wild. River Song continues this theme with an almost foreign sound and shortly after you find Something Like Happiness. This is the most recent single taken from the album and it brings you back to the sound of 2009's Wall Of Arms. It has the potential to sound huge live as Orlando pours "you just know when you know" and it's certainly known that this is an album highlight. Marks To Prove It peters on out through it's last few tracks ending with the ethereal and beautiful Dawn Chorus, a track that is well worth the wait to hear.

With an album like Marks To Prove It, The Maccabees have proven themselves to be versatile creatures. Their sound is no longer the happy, traditional indie rock n roll recipe we all love, but it is still something a little bit special.

7/10
Listen to: Kamakura, Dawn Chorus