The Maccabees - No Kind Words Single Review

Review of The Maccabees' single 'No Kind Words' released through Fiction.

Jaunty pop tykes The Maccabees may have spent their formative years reminiscing about swimming pools at their favourite leisure centre or cigarette burns in ladies' clothing like young pups on a voyage of social discovery but here they've undoubtedly stumbled upon their darker side.

Anyone unsure as to whether 'Colour It In' had The Maccabees down as mere one trick ponies is going to be in for a major case of character re-assessment, as 'No Kind Words' sees them in more introspective mode than any of their previous work, not to mention slightly more acerbic in its riposte at the song's subject ("If you've no kind words to say, you should say nothing more at all") that suggests they've been

listening to the more atonal wares of artists such as Nick Cave, Interpol or The National rather than their more happy-go-lucky capital-based aficionados such as Noah And The Whale et al.

Despite still retaining the pop-tinged flavour of yore, 'No Kind Words' is unlikely to find itself broadcast on Computerised Playlist FM, which can only be a good thing and makes the impending release of forthcoming second album 'Wall Of Arms' a mouth-watering proposition indeed.

8/10

Dom Gourlay