With their wonky, romantic, art-rock leanings, jerky guitars and forlorn harmonies, The Maccabees create indie pop that tugs on the heart strings while frenetically pogo-ing its way into your subconscious. Led by front man Orlando Weeks, the South London schoolfriends relocated to Brighton and steadily started building a reputation for themselves, winning the approval of Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq with their second single Latchmere - probably the only song ever written about Battersea swimming baths. Debut album Colour It In (2007) was well-received by the critics, with NME rating it 8/10, before the lulling, naïve romance of single Toothpaste Kisses was used in a commercial for Samsung and in the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Second album Wall Of Arms (2009), produced by Markus Dravs, was similarly warmly received, reaching Number 13 in the UK album charts and producing the singles Love You Better and Can You Give It? The band rounded off 2009 with a triumphant gig at Brixton Academy before going on to headline the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour in 2010.
