Following the divisive, hyper-polished textures of Learning How To Live And Let Go, a record that sometimes felt a little mismatched, The Xcerts are back with their sixth studio album, i think i want to go home now, an unashamed homecoming, stripping away the sheen of their past to reveal the beating, bruised heart of a classic guitar band operating at full capacity.
The record moves with an urgent, narrative-driven flow. Following a fragile and cinematic prelude, the album roars to life with “do it myself,” an immediate reminder of the trio’s gift for combining heavy internal anxieties with sky-scraping melodies. Here, Murray Macleod’s lyricism holds heavy emotional baggage, from the sting of a breakup to the trauma of familial loss, but the music refuses to drown in self-pity. Instead, tracks like “wow” and the brooding, grunge-inflected “sinking feeling” use massive dynamics, moving from quiet and intimate spaces to walls of roaring guitar noise that are entirely earned.
The album’s midsection showcases a group re-engaging with their history without getting entirely stuck in the past; there is a jagged, sharp-edged friction to “bury you” and the volatile shifts of “pretty ugly”, which flirts with the post-hardcore edge of their earliest work, yet the songwriting feels far more sophisticated. Rather than choking the tracks with modern compression, the production here leaves plenty of breathing room, letting the energy of the band’s rhythm section drive its narrative.
Softer, atmospheric stretches allow the album to truly shine. “dream you in” is a slice of guitar-driven melancholy that captures the anthemic, heart-on-sleeve beauty of late-90s indie rock, setting up a brilliant late album run completed by the sprawling closer of “in your eyes,” a track that gradually accumulates layers of cinematic strings before fracturing into a cathartic instrumental finale.
While the album doesn’t quite eclipse the untouchable status of Hold On To Your Heart or There Is Only You, occasionally leaning on familiar structures to steady their ship, i think i want to go home now is a successful exercise in rebuilding identity. By letting the gloss fade and allowing their natural instincts to take over, The Xcerts deliver a cohesive, moving record that proves that they are exactly where they belong.
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