Shaking In The Water: The Xcerts On Hope, Inner Goths And 'There Is Only You'
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Written by Ben Bland
Four years on from the brilliantly dark ‘Scatterbrain’, the Xcerts have returned with the excellent ‘There is Only You’, their third full-length, and a fresh batch of UK shows.
Packed with huge choruses, the album might just end up being the trio’s breakthrough. Frontman Murray Macleod took time out while touring Europe with Twin Atlantic to answer our questions…
You demoed the new record pretty hard, which was part of the reason it took so long to come out, as I understand it. How did the songs change over the course of that process?
We just wanted to make sure we trimmed as much fat from the songs as possible. All of the songs changed once we had demoed them in terms of structure or tone. Some songs changed pretty radically. Pop Song initially sounded quite Cold War Kids-esque and Shaking in the Water was very jangly before we turned it into a fuzzed out rock song. I Don't Care also went through copious amounts of lyrical changes, specifically the chorus. It took me a long time to settle on what it became, which is funny because it's the most simple chorus on the record.
You’ve always had a knack for writing great hooks, but the new album takes that to a new level I think. How conscious was that?
It was definitely a conscious decision at the beginning of writing but once the first few songs were finished, I didn't really think about it. The hooks and melodies presented themselves in a very natural way.
Some songs, like Shaking in the Water, go back a few years now. Was the bulk of this record written around the same time?
Shaking in the Water and Teenage Lust were written around the same time but both songs were constantly being worked on. The majority of the songs were written throughout 2013. We were constantly writing after we released 'Scatterbrain' but we were just wildly militant about what made the final cut.
Which song best sums up the record for you?
Perhaps I Don't Care. We wanted to make a big lush rock record and i think that song sums up what we were going for in three and a half minutes. When we wrote it we personally felt like we had written something incredibly special and when the demo started to get passed around it seemed like people thought the same, so there was a real sense of excitement around.
Whose idea was the brilliant video for Pop Song?
Credit goes to the wonderful Steve Gullick. He is one of our favourite photographers of all time and the fact he agreed to do a video for us completely blew our minds. We had a massive amount of fun filming that video and I'm glad I finally got to dress up as Robert Smith! I hide my inner goth 24/7.
A lot of bands release their third album and it becomes the definitive album in their catalogue. Do you feel that way about ‘There is Only You’?
Absolutely, and it's definitely something we had in mind when making the record. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, the Replacements, Cheap Trick, all wrote career defining third albums. We want longevity and those are the artists we look up to and admire because they care about their catalogue of work, as well as being incredible artists.
There’s certainly a lot less of a distorted edge to this record, in comparison to ‘Scatterbrain’. What do you think of that album looking back at it now?
We are incredibly proud of that album. I'm glad it sits between 'In the Cold Wind We Smile' and ‘There is Only You', as it shows progression and it's exactly the kind of record we wanted to make at the time.
What can you tell me about the album artwork? To me it communicates a feeling of being out of control…
It is completely open for interpretation and it's really cool you see something different to me. It represents something drastically different to myself purely for personal reasons but we want the image to be interpreted in many different ways. I personally think it could be perceived as hopeful or negative much like the record itself.
You talk about Tom Petty a lot in the press release. Were there any other artists you were particularly listening to a lot during the making of this record? I’m getting a Cure vibe on a few of the tracks, especially Pop Song.
The Smashing Pumpkins definitely influenced the tone of the record. Structurally we were looking at the Beatles, predominantly the 'Fab Four' era. 'Celebrity Skin' by Hole was also a record we took influence from as well as early Foo Fighters material. I think the Cure will always play a massive role in influencing us purely because we adore that band. Robert Smith is one of my favourite lyricists of all time so his influence on me personally will always remain.
I know the album was originally written as a collection of hopeful pop songs, but how much did the change in your personal circumstances during recording change that? Have many of the songs taken on new meanings for you now?
The songs themselves were never meant to sound that hopeful. The overall idea behind the record is about every shitty road I'd been down in the last few years to reach a point of wanting to spend the rest of my life with one person. During the recording process, the concept definitely intensified when she decided she could no longer be with me. The album was meant to be a declaration to someone I know, it's now it's a declaration to the memory of someone I once knew. I still hope people get to the end of the record and feel hopeful.
You’re touring with your old friends in Twin Atlantic at the moment, whose career has skyrocketed in the last couple of years. Is it strange to see them playing such big venues now? Is the level of success they have reached something you see yourselves as being capable of? Is it even something you particularly want?
They deserve their success as they have worked incredibly hard and i know much it means to them. We definitely want to reach that level of success. We used to keep pretty quiet about it but we want to be a very big band. I personally think we are capable of reaching that level but sometimes being a good band and releasing good records isn't enough. The music industry is horrifically political, which sometimes it feels like it's out of our hands.
You’ve toured with a lot of bands that I know are dear to your hearts over the last few years. Are there any still on the list that you’d particularly love to play with? I’m sure you’re desperate for another chance to play with Guns N’ Roses (who the band were due to support in 2012, only to cancel their support slot for ‘logistical reasons’).
We'd love to play some shows with Foo Fighters or Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers but chances of that working out are pretty slim. A Pearl Jam tour or a Pixies tour would also be a treat, but again, chances of that happening are bleakly slim.
The Xcerts Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 28 2014 - ALDERSHOT West End Centre
Sun November 30 2014 - BIRMINGHAM Sunflower Lounge
Tue December 02 2014 - NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social Club
Wed December 03 2014 - NORWICH Waterfront
Thu December 04 2014 - SHEFFIELD Corporation
Sat December 06 2014 - GLASGOW Oran Mor
Sun December 07 2014 - DUNDEE Beat Generator Live!
Mon December 08 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE THINK TANK at Digital
Tue December 09 2014 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Wed December 10 2014 - LONDON Tufnell Park Dome
Fri December 12 2014 - MANCHESTER Soup Kitchen
Sat December 13 2014 - BRIGHTON Haunt
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