Brighton-via-Aberdeen trio The Xcerts have announced their highly anticipated new album i think i want to go home now., set for release on 10th July. Alongside the news, the band have shared their blistering new single pretty ugly — a track that marks one of the heaviest moments in their catalogue to date.
The XCERTS
Driven by fuzzed-out guitars and an unrelenting pace, pretty ugly captures a raw, volatile energy that reflects a particularly difficult period for frontman Murray Macleod. The track dives headfirst into themes of anger, grief, and personal turmoil, confronting both internal struggles and outside criticism with unfiltered intensity.
Speaking on the single, Macleod describes it as a deliberate departure into harsher emotional territory, drawing inspiration from UK post-hardcore while embracing a more chaotic vocal delivery. Beneath its abrasive surface, the song carries deeply personal weight, touching on his father’s cancer diagnosis and the emotional strain surrounding it. The result is a track that feels as cathartic as it is confrontational.
The upcoming album stands as a defining moment for the band — a body of work shaped by adversity but rooted in unity. Across its runtime, i think i want to go home now. reflects the strength of the trio’s long-standing friendship, with Macleod, Jordan Smith (bass), and Tom Heron (drums) leaning on each other through a series of personal challenges, including family illness and loss.
Sonically, the record sees The Xcerts reconnecting with the urgency and emotional directness that defined their early releases, while still pushing their sound forward. It’s a full-circle moment of sorts — not a repetition of the past, but a reflection of how similar emotional landscapes have shaped both their beginnings and their present.
“This really is the purest Xcerts record there’s been since the first one,” says Macleod. “We dug really deep to discover what the defining sound of our band is and bled it all out.”
To celebrate the release, the band will perform the album in full at 2000 Trees Festival this summer — a fitting setting given their long-standing relationship with the event — alongside a series of live dates with Twin Atlantic.
With pretty ugly setting the tone, i think i want to go home now. promises to be one of the most emotionally charged and sonically intense releases of The Xcerts’ career — a testament to resilience, honesty, and the enduring power of connection.
Upcoming UK Tour Dates:
JUNE – with Twin Atlantic
9th – Stirling – Albert Hall
10th – Edinburgh – La Belle Angele
11th – Aberdeen – Beach Ballroom
JULY – full album playthrough
11th – 2000 Trees Festival
AUGUST
1st – Arbroath Music and Food Festival
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