Jonathan Geddes
There remains a youthful optimism about the Xcerts, even though they??re now old hands at the music industry.
The Aberdeen-via-Brighton trio have been on the go for over a decade, are now three albums into their career and have toured with a host of established bands, yet cynicism or tiredness has clearly not set in.
??Our first record was like a teenage years greatest hits, and then Scatterbrain was released the following year (in 2010), so that time was really quick,?? explains Murray MacLeod, their singer and guitarist.
??That whole period was just a blur of touring, then recording, then touring. Making music still feels very fresh, and because we??re still quite young I don??t feel too jaded or cynical.??
There are plenty of reasons for the band to be cheerful, particularly because third album There Is Only You is their finest record yet, a zippy 36 minute dose of alt rock and power pop, marrying the group??s quiet/loud instincts with some large pop hooks.
It??s a collection of songs borne out of taking some time away, and of personal hardships, with MacLeod breaking up with his girlfriend during the recording process. The result is a record with tunes that soar and lyrics that dwell on the darker side.
??It??s very personal to me, and very cathartic, but it??s cheaper than therapy,?? chuckles the singer.
??The album really came out more upbeat musically than we thought it would be when we were writing it - you get a much better perspective on something when it??s done.
??I??m a massive Cure fan and think Robert Smith is an incredible lyricist, and I??ve always been drawn to the sadder side of words.??
Yet the likes of singles Shaking In The Water and Pop Song are, as the latter??s title suggests, rooted in a catchy, sing-a-long pop style. A pop sensibility is something all of the Xcerts records have displayed to some extent, with There Is Only You pushing it further than before, albeit while retaining plenty of noise.
??When we came back we said we wanted to make a romantic rock record, in the way that when the Smashing Pumpkins go heavy it??s still beautiful melodically,?? he says.
??Although we??ve turned up the guitars to set the tone, there was also the idea of wanting to prove ourselves as great songwriters so that??s where the pop hooks came in.
??We all really like big choruses and our favourite thing at shows is when people are singing along. Even bands like Cheap Trick or the Replacements, who we love, it??s melodic pop, just with guitars, and we don??t shy away from the fact that we??re a pop band.??
There will surely be a few sing-a-longs at their upcoming run of Scottish shows, which stops in Glasgow this Saturday and Dundee on Sunday. Originally scheduled for last month, the dates were rearranged after the band were offered further gigs supporting Twin Atlantic across Europe.
Several years ago both bands toured together, playing rather smaller venues than on the most recent jaunt. MacLeod admits it??s an ??odd experience?? seeing a group they??ve known for years suddenly explode into the mainstream so emphatically.
??We??ve been friends with them since we were 18 and toured with them before we made our first record, so it??s weird to look at it. What they??ve done is incredible, and they??ve done a lot for Scottish rock music, more than they get given credit for.
??They??ve gone down one path and we??re going down another path, but I definitely do aspire to someday be at the size they??re at and headlining the venues they??re at.??
Talk of those different paths sees MacLeod return to There Is Only You, and how he believes that it combines pop moments with heavier guitars.
??Musically we??re quite different, where Twin have gone for this big accessible pop/rock thing and are reaching for the stars, whereas we??re going with an old school rock ??n roll mentality and are a lot more guitar-driven than they are.
??That??s not a criticism, just that with this record we??ve gone let??s really turn the guitars up, whereas Twin are trying other stuff.??
The Xcerts play Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday and Beat Generator in Dundee on Sunday.
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