The Xcerts are heading at full speed towards their new album, LEARNING HOW TO LIVE AND LET GO. An extension of their 15-year journey that still manages to be as rousing and romantic as anything their discography boasts. It’s set to be a heartfelt and honest experience. And they have shared a new piece of it that perfectly demonstrates that sentiment.
The song is “Blame”, and it feels the most comfortable in what The Xcerts have always done in the past. With transcendental instruments and rousing intentions, it’s a foot-stomper of a tune that will spark your interest immediately. But below the surface, it speaks about accountability for your own actions, accepting that you are in control of what direction things go. Having such existentialism sewn into the seams of such a spirited track demonstrates just how much the record is set to ebb and flow.
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Vocalist Murray MacLeod had this to say about it:
“Blame’ is the most quintessential XCERTS song on the new record. It was important for us to look back but push the boundaries of what, in essence, is quite a simple pop song. The majority of the new record was written in the studio, but we crafted this one in the rehearsal room and I feel like you can hear the ‘3 piece’ chemistry and urgency within the recording. It’s a song about accountability and no longer looking for a scapegoat when things go wrong, and realising I’ve really hurt people in the past with my thoughtlessness. I was once told ‘if you can’t spot the dickhead in the room, it’s probably you’. I guess it’s our first (hyper) self-aware song lyrically.”
Here it is, performed as a one-take vocal performance:
LEARNING HOW TO LIVE AND LET GO will be released on August 18 via UNFD. Murray had this to say about what it represents for him and the band:
“We knew we wanted to approach this album differently in regards to the recording process. Each album we’ve made in the past has been extremely traditional but this time round we wanted to engulf ourselves in the studio environment and work without limitations. It was definitely time for us to shake things up and feel a certain level of discomfort in order to achieve our vision.
We didn’t want to rest on our laurels. We spent a year working closely with our friend Steven Graham Ansell in his studio, which became our sanctuary. Each day was so inspiring as we had no idea where these ideas would take us. Working without fear for the first time proved to be so rewarding.”
It will also feature “Jealousy”:
And “Ache”, which also features Architects’ Sam Carter:
