Beauty in the Darkness: The Xcerts on 'Learning How To Live And Let Go'
Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Written by Rishi Shah
Photo: Zak Pinchin
“I’ve stayed strong in my belief that this is our best work yet,” a beaming Murray Macleod tells us just a few days after The Xcerts’ momentous festival set at 2000trees. The frontman is discussing their comeback record ‘Learning How To Live And Let Go’, which is set to emerge after a yawning gap since the release of their last full-length ‘Hold On to Your Heart’ in 2018.
The record is a glorious blend of their signature melodies and a fresh spark of versatility, shifting gears between stadium-pop, emotive balladry and churning intensity that speaks to heavier audiences. “We know this record’s a bit different,” Murray admits, reflecting on seven months since its lead single Gimme landed.
“One of the reasons we’ve had such a long build-up is that we wanted each song to have its moment and have the spotlight shone on each one. In time, people have come to realise that it’s not that radical a change. I get it, but the DNA is there, you can hear the influence of stuff we did on [debut album] ‘Scatterbrain’ in Gimme.”
Indeed, Gimme is characterised by some venomous production that did provoke a “knee-jerk” reaction from some Xcerts fans. Clocking in at a mere one minute and 40 seconds, it’s a short, sharp shock that kicks off the LP and also the band’s live set. “We opened with that song at 2000trees, so there was a bit of nervousness on our part if we were going to have egg on our face,” Murray says. “That show was completely overwhelming for us. I think even as we walked out on stage, it was a big relief for us even before we kicked in with the first note of Gimme.”
Gimme’s rapid-fire attack has become a running theme, Murray jokes. “The record is 30 minutes long, so there have been conversations over whether we should just be selfish and play the whole thing,” he says. Enlisting the help of a high-profile friend, Architects’ Sam Carter, its follow-up single Ache squeezed a boatload of pop anthemics into two minutes of real estate.
“We closed with Ache at Trees and we played it twice, because I looked down and we had two minutes left on the clock,” Murray recalls. “We love it, it’s so good, so let’s play it twice. That song went off like one of our golden oldies. The new songs that we’ve introduced to the set, they just fit perfectly.”
While the singles have teased what’s to come, they’re only one part of a full, cohesive project, Murray explains. “I think when people hear the album in its entirety, that’s when each track will totally make sense to people,” he says. “We’ve always viewed the album as a project, it’s all very interlinked and I do think it makes much more sense as one piece.”
“I sometimes forget that there’s this whole other side of it that people have no idea what it’s gonna sound like,” he adds. “I’m really excited, I don’t even have a fear of the unknown. The world we envisioned has been fully realised. We fully committed ourselves to the album and there’s not one bit on it where I feel like we could have tried harder there.”
This sense of grit has been hard won, too. In the years since they last put a record out, the band’s future was thrown into doubt when they lost a record deal and severed ties with their management. “It felt like our world was crumbling and we weren’t sure if anybody was going to even hear the music,” Murray reflects.
When the Australian label UNFD picked them up, the wheels started moving again in Brighton, with the help of Blood Red Shoes’ Steve Ansell. “I’ll always remember the time spent in the studio with the three of us and Steve,” Murray says. “It’s a very special, strange room. We wrote a lot of the record in this out-house with no water, no electricity, where a bunch of us were living for free. It was almost a shed that musicians had converted into a studio, no heating, no anything. I think, more importantly, the time the three of us spent with Steve was so freeing, really therapeutic as well.”
Out of the turbulence came something truly beautiful: a sense of euphoria that is crystal clear on the more rousing side of the record. “We’ve never had so much fun making a record,” Murray says. “It brought the three of us closer together, which I didn’t think was possible. It was a very profound time. I was still trying to make sense of the past few years, exorcising demons at the same time. Overall, it was incredibly healthy. When we got the masters of the record, I spoke to my buddy and was told some really good advice. He said, ‘Remember this moment, because that’s exactly how you feel about it in its purest form.’”
Whether it's the twinkling synth-pop of Lovesick or the thumping bassline of Car Crash Culture, touring is now set to bring these songs to life. “We’ve got the bulk of an idea of a setlist now,” Murray says. “We’re a very functional band in that sense, eyes on everything all at once. We’ve been quiet for a while, so we’re embracing it.”
Following some in-stores and shows with You Me At Six — a “chance to throw our arms round some buddies for a night” — The Xcerts are set for a UK headline tour in October, with an Aberdeen homecoming at the Lemon Tree the pick of the bunch. “It’s truly, truly beautiful to go back to the city and play,” Murray observes. “I think the city just radiates in our music. Whenever we go back and play, all of that history is just so abundantly clear. The venue we’re playing at, I get butterflies when I walk into that room. So much life happened for the band there, it’s hard to shake.”
‘Learning How To Live And Let Go’ is out on August 18 through UNFD.
The Xcerts Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue October 03 2023 - SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Wed October 04 2023 - EXETER Cavern
Thu October 05 2023 - LONDON Lafayette
Sat October 07 2023 - NORWICH Waterfront Studio
Sun October 08 2023 - BIRMINGHAM Hare And Hounds
Mon October 09 2023 - LEEDS Brudenell Community Room
Wed October 11 2023 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
Thu October 12 2023 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Zerox
Fri October 13 2023 - ABERDEEN Lemon Tree
Sat October 14 2023 - GLASGOW St Luke's
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