The Xcerts - Barfly, Camden, London - December 8th 2010 (Live Review)
Monday, 20 December 2010
Written by Ben Bland
Having produced one of the most torturously brilliant records of 2010 in “Scatterbrain”, Aberdeen/Brighton trio The Xcerts have taken to the road and the last of their English dates for the year is here at the Barfly where a solid crowd has turned up to celebrate the trio’s excellent year.
Opening up are local pop-punkers Stereo Decade, which is a bit of a shame. Although half the band look too young to be allowed in the Barfly (some achievement considering the 14+ nature of the gig), the quartet certainly seem up for this show. Some of the crowd also seem to be enjoying their overwhelmingly cheerful approach to music. Personally speaking, I can’t help but spend their entire set wishing they’d shut up. Call me a moaner for this if you want but bands like Stereo Decade piss me off with their OTT sunny dispositions, focus on fashion and repetitive hooks. Maybe I’m just a totally miserable bastard. Main tour support What Now (Therapy? must have stolen their question mark) also take the sunny and anthemic approach to their music. There’s a bit of substance in the mix as well though and a slightly harder, more alternative edge that makes their performance comfortably bearable even if there is still too much of a reliance on lots of woah-ohs to mean they manage to completely escape the label of pop-punk. Perhaps this is what Muse would sound like if they went wholeheartedly down the pop road instead of mucking about with their Queen tribute band thing.
Contrasting deliciously with the two support acts The Xcerts take to the stage and rip straight into the title track from “Scatterbrain”. A pummelling affair with frontman Murray Macleod choosing to take the screaming route with his vocals much of the time, this is clearly something of a shock for a few of the gathered multitudes at the Barfly tonight. Some of the audience either haven’t heard the new record yet who came on the assumption that the band was as harmless as a brief glance in their direction may suggest. Anyone familiar with this band knows what The Xcerts are all about. Although their debut record may have had a sprinkling of hope to go with the cynicism, this has all been done away with now. Their new material is as ferocious as alternative rock gets and probably as emotive as well. It’s bands like this that make sure that the timeless format of guitar, bass and drums remains as achingly relevant as ever it was. With a world weary approach well beyond his years, Macleod’s twisted tales of love and loss are as brutal as they come and, delivered in his thick Aberdonian accent, somehow feel so much more real than almost all his contemporaries. Not that bassist Jordan Smith and drummer Tom Heron should be forgotten about. “Gum” gives Smith a particular chance to shine and Heron’s enthusiasm in bashing his kit as if there’s no tomorrow can’t fail to impress. The new songs may shine the brightest tonight (“Carnival Time” is already something of a fan favourite) but there’s space for the old as well. “Crisis In The Slow Lane” is one of the best British rock songs of the 21st century and, even in the cramped confines of the Barfly sounds absolutely HUGE. “Aberdeen 1987” meanwhile is always guaranteed to provoke a sing-along as Macleod takes to the stage alone with his acoustic guitar. An unplanned encore of “I Scare Easy” and “Cool Ethan” brings the evening to a sublime close. Although the set could perhaps be a bit longer and there are a couple of songs that they need to put in the setlist (“Hurt With Me”, I’m looking at you), the Barfly sees a fairly explosive performance from one of the nation’s big hopes. The Xcerts are a band that Britain should be proud of and surely their time playing small venues such as this is limited.
The Xcerts will tour the UK from January to March with Dinosaur Pile-Up and Japanese Voyeurs on the RockSound Exposure Tour.
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Contrasting deliciously with the two support acts The Xcerts take to the stage and rip straight into the title track from “Scatterbrain”. A pummelling affair with frontman Murray Macleod choosing to take the screaming route with his vocals much of the time, this is clearly something of a shock for a few of the gathered multitudes at the Barfly tonight. Some of the audience either haven’t heard the new record yet who came on the assumption that the band was as harmless as a brief glance in their direction may suggest. Anyone familiar with this band knows what The Xcerts are all about. Although their debut record may have had a sprinkling of hope to go with the cynicism, this has all been done away with now. Their new material is as ferocious as alternative rock gets and probably as emotive as well. It’s bands like this that make sure that the timeless format of guitar, bass and drums remains as achingly relevant as ever it was. With a world weary approach well beyond his years, Macleod’s twisted tales of love and loss are as brutal as they come and, delivered in his thick Aberdonian accent, somehow feel so much more real than almost all his contemporaries. Not that bassist Jordan Smith and drummer Tom Heron should be forgotten about. “Gum” gives Smith a particular chance to shine and Heron’s enthusiasm in bashing his kit as if there’s no tomorrow can’t fail to impress. The new songs may shine the brightest tonight (“Carnival Time” is already something of a fan favourite) but there’s space for the old as well. “Crisis In The Slow Lane” is one of the best British rock songs of the 21st century and, even in the cramped confines of the Barfly sounds absolutely HUGE. “Aberdeen 1987” meanwhile is always guaranteed to provoke a sing-along as Macleod takes to the stage alone with his acoustic guitar. An unplanned encore of “I Scare Easy” and “Cool Ethan” brings the evening to a sublime close. Although the set could perhaps be a bit longer and there are a couple of songs that they need to put in the setlist (“Hurt With Me”, I’m looking at you), the Barfly sees a fairly explosive performance from one of the nation’s big hopes. The Xcerts are a band that Britain should be proud of and surely their time playing small venues such as this is limited. 
