The Xcerts are a band that time and again have had the remark passed about them “how are they not bigger?”. In the late 2010’s it’s a question that several members of the Rock Sins staff would discuss time and again, especially off the back of their incredible album Hold On To Your Heart – still one of the best albums of the previous decade. Post pandemic, The Xcerts experimented with different approaches on their 2023 album Learning How To Live And Let Go – it has to be said with mixed results and mixed success. 2026 brings us to new, yet old, territory.
The name of their new album “i think i want to go home now.” feels apt. It feels like The Xcerts have returned to their roots, largely returning to the approach of not Hold On To Your Heart – it’s less upbeat than that album, but the melancholia of 2014’s There Is Only You and the rawness of debut In The Cold Wind We Smile. Opening single and the album’s first track proper track, do it to myself instantly gave off the impression that “The Xcerts were back” from first listen. It gets better every time you hear it.
The middle of the album has a great run of tracks. bury you is musically uptempo, but tells a message of hard conversations and the type of honest truths you can usually only get from your closest friends. rinse repeat will resonate with many, with several instantly quotable lyrics like part of the chorus; “tired of living like I can’t function”. It’s The Xcerts at their relatable best. The next track, pretty ugly, takes a sharp turn, with harsh vocals and a jarring main riff. In places its about as heavy as The Xcerts get, moving between this and slower moments like the flick of a switch.
Emotional connection through the songs is never far away with this album. dream you in has some beautiful instrumentation, almost hitting shoegaze territory alongside Murray’s vocals. losing it is backboned by another fine main riff while singing of things like still looking for parental approval. breathe in what was is sonically layered with depth, and another huge chorus from Murray. The albums closer, in your eyes, is a stunning, slow burning emotional rollercoaster. Written about the passing of bassist Jordan Smith’s mum, this is The Xcerts baring their soul (musically and emotionally) for all to see. It’s a brilliant conclusion to the album, capped with a snippet of Jordan’s mum’s voice which is a lovely touch.
A quote from frontman Murray Macleod accompanies the press copy of this album:
“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”.
On reflection, they’ve done exactly what they set out to do, and they should be very pleased with what they’ve created. i think i want to go home now. simultaneously manages to look into The Xcerts past while moving them forward. It sounds like early Xcerts, but it is definitely not a re-do or a rehash of old ideas. They seem to have been reinspired by their early work, and have found a way to take that, freshen it up and have assembled a very fine album in the process.
i think i want to go home now. is released on the 10th of July 2026 through FLG Records. Pre-order / pre-save / get your physical orders in, and check out tickets for their release week events on this link.
