Given to the Wild

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Given to the Wild
Studio album by The Maccabees
Released 9 January 2012
Genre Indie rock, alternative rock, ambient rock
Length 52:51
Label Fiction
Producer Tim Goldsworthy, Bruno Ellingham, Jag Jago
The Maccabees chronology
Wall of Arms
Given to the Wild
Singles from Given to the Wild
  1. "Pelican"
    Released: 30 December 2011
  2. "Feel to Follow"
    Released: 3 February 2012
  3. "Went Away"
    Released: 28 May 2012
  4. "Ayla"
    Released: 10 September 2012

Given to the Wild is the third studio album by British indie rock band The Maccabees. The album was first released in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2012,[1] where it debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and number thirty-one on the Irish Albums Chart. The album has seen four single releases: "Pelican" (released on 30 December 2011), "Feel to Follow" (4 March 2012), "Went Away" (28 May 2012), and "Ayla" (10 September 2012).


Metacritic has calculated a Metascore of 69 out of 100 for the album,[2] based on 20 reviews, giving the album "generally favorable reviews". NME gave the album a 9/10.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Clash (9/10)[4]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[5]
Drowned in Sound (7/10)[6]
The Times 4/5 stars
NME (9/10)
The Fly (magazine) (9/10)
The Upcoming 4/5 stars[7]
The Music Service 7/10 stars[8]
Pop 'stache 3.5/5 stars[9]
Pitchfork (4.0/10.0)[10]


The band worked on the 13-track album, their third, at Rockfield Studios with Tim Goldsworthy and Bruno Ellingham (LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack) over late 2010 to 2011. They also worked on large parts of the record with producer Jag Jago at their rehearsal space in London's Elephant and Castle district before decamping to Suffolk to finish the record at Decoy Studios with Cenzo Townshend and Sean Julliard.


Speaking about the title of the album, singer Orlando Weeks told the NME: "'Given to the wild' is the first line on the album and was a title idea we had pretty early on. But it wasn't until we'd finished recording that we could come back to it and know that it suited, it just felt right."[11]


  • "Pelican" was released as the album's lead single on 30 December 2011. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 87. It appeared in the video game Forza Horizon.
  • "Feel to Follow" was released on 3 February 2012. The song peaked to number 188 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Went Away", the third single from Given to the Wild, was released on 28 May 2012.
  • "Ayla" was the fourth single to be released on 10 September 2012.[12]

Other songs[edit]

Track listing[edit]

No. Title Length
1. "Given to the Wild (Intro)"   2:11
2. "Child"   4:31
3. "Feel to Follow"   3:29
4. "Ayla"   3:47
5. "Glimmer"   4:03
6. "Forever I've Known"   5:21
7. "Heave"   4:24
8. "Pelican"   3:44
9. "Went Away"   3:38
10. "Go"   4:12
11. "Unknow (featuring Catherine Pockson)"   5:07
12. "Slowly One"   4:17
13. "Grew Up at Midnight"   4:00
Total length:

Chart performance[edit]

On 12 January 2012 Given to the Wild entered the Irish Albums Chart at number 31.

Chart (2012) Peak
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[13] 92
Dutch Albums Chart[14] 57
Irish Albums Chart[15] 31
UK Albums Chart[16] 4