Scottish alternative rock trio The XCERTS have unveiled emotionally charged new single rinse repeat, the latest track lifted from their forthcoming sixth studio album i think i want to go home now., due for release on 10th July.
The XCERTS
The new single finds the band revisiting themes first explored on their 2009 debut album In The Cold Wind We Smile, specifically referencing fan favourite crisis in the slow lane, but this time through the lens of adulthood, grief and lived experience. Musically, ‘rinse repeat’ balances the raw urgency that has long defined The XCERTS with a more reflective maturity, building from restrained verses into soaring cathartic release.
Frontman Murray Macleod explained that the song was shaped by deeply personal experiences surrounding illness and emotional upheaval during the album’s creation. “This might be the first time we’ve self-referenced our own material,” he said. “There are a lot of parallels between our first record and this record, with the heartbreak of a relationship deteriorating and the loss of a parent.”
He continued: “Sadly cancer was all too prominent in our lives during the writing and recording of this record, and this song is very much about my father’s diagnosis at the tail end of 2022 and the helplessness of it all.”
That emotional honesty appears to sit at the core of i think i want to go home now., an album written collaboratively by all three members in the same room for the first time since the band’s early years. Recorded with producer Larry Hibbitt at Beehive Studios, the record captures a period marked by personal loss, including the death of bassist Jordan Smith’s mother alongside Macleod’s family struggles.
Previous singles have already hinted at the album’s emotional breadth. pretty ugly arrived as an abrasive blast of frustration and anger, while in your eyes leaned into widescreen vulnerability. rinse repeat sits somewhere between the two, grounding its heaviness in melodic immediacy and proving once again why The XCERTS remain one of Britain’s most consistently underrated alternative bands.
Since emerging in the late 2000s, the trio have earned a devoted following thanks to their ability to combine huge emotional stakes with arena-sized hooks, drawing comparisons to bands such as Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World while carving out a distinctive voice of their own. Their return with i think i want to go home now. feels less like nostalgia and more like a reaffirmation of purpose.
The XCERTS will also hit the road this summer, including festival appearances and a special full album playthrough set at 2000 Trees Festival.
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
White Lies Illuminate The Roundhouse On Night Two Of Their Hometown Return
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