The XCERTS have announced their new album 'i think i want to go home now.'
New single 'pretty ugly' arrives alongside plans for a full album playthrough at 2000 Trees.
The XCERTS are back with news of their forthcoming album 'i think i want to go home now.', which arrives on 10th July through FLG Records. To mark the occasion, the Aberdeen-formed, Brighton-based trio have unveiled 'pretty ugly' as the record's latest single.
Vocalist Murray Macleod has opened up about the track's origins, explaining: "A nod to Scatterbrain but also heavily inspired by UK post hardcore bands like Kids Near Water and Tribute to Nothing whilst pushing the sound forward. Lyrically, it's comically brutal. The vocals are borderline incoherent but that was intentional."
"Another emotion I haven't put in a song for a very long time is anger and at the time I found myself feeling very angry at the world. So this song takes a swipe at people who were criticising the band during a period when my family was going through a lot."
"The second verse is about my father and what he was going through after his cancer diagnosis. I reference the machinery that cut out my dad's tumour, the Da Vinci XI, and also Van Gogh. 'Maybe I'll splatter my brains against the wall, then you can all dissect the art, I'll do one better than Van Gogh and cut em both off.'"
"The song is heavy in sound and heavy with emotion, so it was important to say something a bit left field because that's what happens when you're having an internal meltdown."
Driven by frustration and personal turmoil, 'pretty ugly' emerged from a difficult chapter that saw Macleod processing his father's cancer diagnosis alongside external criticism directed at the band. That same period of upheaval — which also included the loss of bandmate Jordan Smith's mother — feeds directly into the wider album.
Reflecting on the record's deeper significance, Macleod adds: "It was really time for us to band together and celebrate our friendship. We're so proud that we're still doing this, because we started the band 23 years ago. It's astonishing really. This really is the purest Xcerts record there's been since the first one. We dug really deep to discover what the defining sound of our band is and bled it all out."
The album reportedly marks a return to the rawer energy of earlier records 'In The Cold Wind We Smile', 'Scatterbrain' and 'There Is Only You'. Notably, parallels exist between the circumstances surrounding the making of 'i think i want to go home now.' and their debut — Smith had lost his father before that first record, while Macleod had gone through a devastating break-up.
Alongside the album news, The XCERTS have revealed plans to play 'i think i want to go home now.' in full at 2000 Trees Festival, a gathering the band have returned to repeatedly across two decades. Support dates with Twin Atlantic and an appearance at Arbroath Music and Food Festival round out their upcoming schedule.
The dates in full read:
JUNE
9 Albert Hall, Stirling (with Twin Atlantic)
10 La Belle Angele, Edinburgh (with Twin Atlantic)
11 Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen (with Twin Atlantic)
JULY
11 2000 Trees Festival (full album playthrough set)
AUGUST
1 Arbroath Music and Food Festival
Vocalist Murray Macleod has opened up about the track's origins, explaining: "A nod to Scatterbrain but also heavily inspired by UK post hardcore bands like Kids Near Water and Tribute to Nothing whilst pushing the sound forward. Lyrically, it's comically brutal. The vocals are borderline incoherent but that was intentional."
"Another emotion I haven't put in a song for a very long time is anger and at the time I found myself feeling very angry at the world. So this song takes a swipe at people who were criticising the band during a period when my family was going through a lot."
"The second verse is about my father and what he was going through after his cancer diagnosis. I reference the machinery that cut out my dad's tumour, the Da Vinci XI, and also Van Gogh. 'Maybe I'll splatter my brains against the wall, then you can all dissect the art, I'll do one better than Van Gogh and cut em both off.'"
"The song is heavy in sound and heavy with emotion, so it was important to say something a bit left field because that's what happens when you're having an internal meltdown."
Driven by frustration and personal turmoil, 'pretty ugly' emerged from a difficult chapter that saw Macleod processing his father's cancer diagnosis alongside external criticism directed at the band. That same period of upheaval — which also included the loss of bandmate Jordan Smith's mother — feeds directly into the wider album.
Reflecting on the record's deeper significance, Macleod adds: "It was really time for us to band together and celebrate our friendship. We're so proud that we're still doing this, because we started the band 23 years ago. It's astonishing really. This really is the purest Xcerts record there's been since the first one. We dug really deep to discover what the defining sound of our band is and bled it all out."
The album reportedly marks a return to the rawer energy of earlier records 'In The Cold Wind We Smile', 'Scatterbrain' and 'There Is Only You'. Notably, parallels exist between the circumstances surrounding the making of 'i think i want to go home now.' and their debut — Smith had lost his father before that first record, while Macleod had gone through a devastating break-up.
Alongside the album news, The XCERTS have revealed plans to play 'i think i want to go home now.' in full at 2000 Trees Festival, a gathering the band have returned to repeatedly across two decades. Support dates with Twin Atlantic and an appearance at Arbroath Music and Food Festival round out their upcoming schedule.
The dates in full read:
JUNE
9 Albert Hall, Stirling (with Twin Atlantic)
10 La Belle Angele, Edinburgh (with Twin Atlantic)
11 Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen (with Twin Atlantic)
JULY
11 2000 Trees Festival (full album playthrough set)
AUGUST
1 Arbroath Music and Food Festival
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