The Xcerts

Brighton-based, Aberdeen-originating The XCERTS today announce their much-anticipated new album, *i think i want to go home now.*, out 10th July via FLG Records. In addition, the band share the album's latest single and arguably their heaviest release to date, the fuzzed-out, fast-paced "pretty ugly". Written during a period of intense personal strain, the track channels a sense of anger and frustration, with vocalist Murray Macleod confronting both internal struggles and external pressures, lashing out at criticism while processing deeply personal experiences. Speaking on the single, Macleod says: "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 remarkably consistent and immediate songs on *i think i want to go home now.* are sonic manifestations of the mutual support and friendship that carried the band through a particularly turbulent period, including Smith’s mother passing away and Macleod’s dad facing a cancer scare. The new album also sees the band reconnecting with the raw urgency that defined early releases. To say that history has repeated itself would undermine the emotional gravitas of these latest life experiences, but the band found it hard not to draw comparisons between then and now. MacLeod emphasizes, "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. 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 power and strength of The XCERTS, both musically and personally, in the face of adversity is once again abundantly clear.