THE XCERTS - Learning How To Live and Let Go (Album Review)
THE XCERTS – Learning How To Live and Let Go
Released: August 18th, 2023
Lineup:
Murray Macleod | Guitar, Lead Vocals
Jordan Smith | Bass, Piano, Backing Vocals
Tom Heron | Drums
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There are 2 things that are pretty much a given when it comes to getting me interested in a band – the genre being alternative, and coming from the UK – fortunately, THE EXCERTS are both of those things. Hailing from Aberdeen, Scotland, Learning How To Live and Let Go is the three-piece’s 5th studio album and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since they dropped their first single ‘GIMME’ back in January.
‘GIMME’ wasn’t only the first single THE EXCERTS dropped off this record, it’s also the opening track. It’s a perfect combination of rock, synth and the seemingly random sound effects and skips littered throughout give it a really fun vibe. ‘Car Crash Culture’ is a complete 180 from ‘GIMME’ and has much less of a synthy vibe, and is very much a ‘pop punk’ kind of bop, reminiscent of early 2000s All Time Low and We The Kings. Lyrically it’s pretty repetitive, but I don’t think that’s detrimental. It’s definitely one that I’ll be playing on summer car rides and vibing out to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u8MIaXKT4E
‘Jealousy’ has my favourite bassline on the record, and it’s also a fun one lyrically. ‘The company I love to keep is misery’ is probably the best one, but there are some absolute gems to choose from with ‘An egotistical anxious mess’ and ‘Another night spent crying in a bathroom stall with strangers’ being up there as well. The one and only Sam Carter of Architects features on track four, titled ‘Ache’, a one-minute and forty-second synth shared vocal adventure. Sam’s lovely British accent comes through pretty strong on his parts of the song, and the harmonies he and vocalist Murray Macleod pull off throughout are top-tier.
‘Drag Me Out’ comes with a complete change of pace, and some really pretty piano throughout. It’s definitely more of a sad ballad, and a reflection of what seems like a bad relationship or break-up. ‘I am worth more than your time so please don’t go wasting mine’ is a particularly poignant lyric repeated during the chorus and really leaves you thinking. The album's title Learning How To Live and Let Go also comes from this song. Another emotional one follows in the form of ‘Everything I Can’t Live Without’. A pretty acoustic guitar ballad, and you can really hear just how emotional Murray was during the recording, his voice seeming as if it’s going to break several times throughout. I may or may not have shed a tear myself upon listing!
Coming at the perfect time with a change of pace and being much more upbeat is ‘Lovesick’, which comes with both The Maine and Waterparks vibes. It’s also a track that is going to pop live with the repeated ‘L O V E S I C K’ during the chorus, and I love a good crowd gang chant, even if it’s just spelling things out like an American high school cheerleader.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVA-MZUXYsU
Considering ‘Inhale(Her)’ is only 80 seconds long, the three-piece manage to fit quite a bit in. Synth vocals, clean vocals, a pretty guitar part and the lyric ‘Shooting up love with your best friend’. Short, sweet and brilliant. ‘Lust In Translation’ is probably the only offering on the album that I wasn’t really blown away by. It’s not a bad song necessarily, just not one that grabbed my attention. The final line of, ‘Yeah, I think I was there’ being spoken made me chuckle, but it doesn’t say much about a song when your favourite part is when it’s over. ‘Blame’ is a great one to listen to if you need a lesson in self-awareness, with the driving lyric in the chorus being 'I've only got myself to blame', and it comes across like someone looking back over a relationship that didn't necessarily work out the way that you had hoped it would. It's surprisingly upbeat musically for the subject matter being explored in the lyrics, but if there's any way to deal with a negative situation, it's by being happy so I guess it works!
‘My Friends Forever’ starts the emotionally fueled ending to Learning How To Live and Let Go and is almost a jazz ballad with it's inclusion of piano and saxophone. Any song with saxophone in it is always going to be a win for me, you've got the late George Michael to thank for my fascination with that instrument. It's really just there to ease you back into the melancholy ready for the closing track. It seems fitting that the final outing, 'It Aint Easy', is both the saddest and the longest. I'm not going to lie, I definitely shed a tear or two whilst listening to this stunning, emotionally fueled 4 minute long number.
My biggest ‘complaint’ of this record is that the songs are too short, just as you really get into them, they end. Most of them end a little abruptly as well and your left going ‘oh damn I was just starting to vibe’, however, I think that helps whatever the message of the particular song is - to really sink in. Learning How To Live and Let Go is an emotional rollercoaster that covers a lot of topics from want, lust, love, and loss. Hats (or kilts, up to you!) off to the trio from Aberdeen.
THE XCERTS – Learning How To Live and Let Go tracklisting:
- GIMME
- Car Crash Culture
- Jealousy
- Ache (feat. Sam Carter)
- Drag Me Out
- Everything I Cannot Live Without
- Lovesick
- Inhale(Her)
- Lust In Translation
- Blame
- My Friends Forever
- It Ain’t Easy
Rating: 7/10
Learning How To Live and Let Go is out Friday, August 18th via UNFD. Pre-Order your copy here.
Review by Kelsey Trevan (@Kelsey_139)
