The Maccabees’ fourth album has been somewhat long in the making. The band first mentioned starting the recording process early in 2013, with their initial attempt in the studio resulting in a mere two songs. Front man Orlando Weeks admitted the band had become finicky with their tone and songwriting, a result of rising standards and expectations the band has with its new material. (Completely understandable given the Maccabees’ career trajectory and the pace of their creative output.) Perfectionism has been a formula that has served the band well thus far.

The Maccabees released The Marks to Prove It last month and have been touring around Europe for the better part of the summer. Naturally, expectations are high, and the band has grown accustomed to playing on a grand scale, having opened for Mumford & Sons and Kasabian on recent tours. The logical next step for group would be an international breakout of their own. Their fall tour of the US starts off with a bang with dual appearances at the ACL Festival in October.  

We checked in with guitarist Hugo White between European festival appearances to talk about the past, present and future of the Maccabees.

Hometown and homebase: South London, United Kingdom

How did you all meet? What made you want to form a band together?

I was about 16 at the time we started the band. My brother was friends with Orlando's brother; he had heard he wanted to start a band and I was learning guitar at the time. He called Orlando and passed the phone to me. That was it really. We borrowed some amps and started rehearsing in his bedroom.

Tell me about South London, and how it influences your songwriting?

We made this album in our studio in South London, I think the fact we spent so much time there just seemed to creep into themes in the record. Elephant and Castle is an interesting almost forgotten place in Zone 1 London. It's in a real phase of change at the moment and that seemed to surround us over the two year process.

You have toured with a couple huge acts recently playing with Mumford & Sons and Kasabian. What did you learn from that experience?

We've done plenty of those big support slots; you learn how to play to people who don't know you and haven't necessarily come to watch you. You have to win them over. Touring with other bands is always fun. Mumford & Sons and Kasabian are great people so we had a good time.

You said that for "Marks to Prove it" you sought a perfect middle ground between the band members. How might you characterize that result in words?

From the early stages of writing, the songs are getting pulled around from every angle; it's a long task to find where that agreeable place is. I guess by the time we have finalized something, it has become that perfect middle ground and reached a place where it sounds like The Maccabees as opposed to anyone individually.

What made finding this middle ground difficult, and how did you overcome the challenges in finding and expressing it?

It's always the same with us, it's a collaboration. The challenges are not new to us but seem to become exaggerated each time we make a record. I guess that’s down to opinions being stronger each time. Orlando takes care of the lyrics, Felix writes a lot of the instrumental music and I took care of the production. Sometimes that delegation can help, although nothing’s black and white.

Why did you name the record Marks to Prove It?

It was the title of the first single. We spent a long time trying to come up with something else but always came back to that. I love the fact it can be interpreted in so many different ways.

Which artists do you want to work with down the road?

There’s a lot of people. I really love Jon Hopkins’ Immunity [record] at the moment.  We collaborated with Jamie T recently which was great. I’m keen to get Dizzee Rascal involved in something.

What do you do for fun?

There hasn't been a huge amount happening outside this record of recent! Being in the studio is fun for me.

What's the craziest thing a fan did for you?

Someone once wrote our drummer an erotic poem! That was pretty funny.