| The Xcerts | |
|---|---|
Playing The Ironworks, Inverness |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Aberdeen |
| Genres | Alternative rock Powerpop Dark Pop Indie rock Post-Hardcore |
| Years active | 2001 - Present |
| Labels | One Records Mannequin Republic |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members | |
| Murray Macleod Jordan Smith Tom Heron |
|
The Xcerts are a three piece "distorted pop" band originally formed in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Contents |
The Xcerts were originally formed by 13 year olds Murray Macleod and Jordan Smith after meeting in the headmasters room at their school in Aberdeen. After Ross joined on drums The Xcerts went on to record two EPs at the local recording studio Captain Tom's.
After relocating to Brighton to progress as a band in 2006, The Xcerts parted ways with their old drummer Ross. A replacement was found in Tom Heron, originally from Exeter, who was living in Brighton with a mutual friend and had also become close friends with Murray and Jordan. With the newly formed trio created, the band began writing the songs that would start to spread the word of The Xcerts nationally.
The Xcerts then went on to release two singles through One Records in Glasgow. 'Breathtaking Fight', which was recorded at Ridge Farm with Ben Watkins, was then followed shortly after by 'My Book Laughs'. After the success of these two singles, the band were headhunted by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly frontman, Sam Duckworth, via MySpace who subsequently released two further singles - 'Just Go Home' and 'Do You Feel Safe?' - through his label, Mannequin Republic.
Recorded at The Dog House by Adam Whittaker, 'Just Go Home' received regular airplay on MTV2, and the band recorded three acoustic tracks for MTV's 'Spanking New Sessions' series. The band have also recorded sessions for Tiscali, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland, XFM Scotland and XFM London. Cover versions of Radiohead's 'All I Need' and The Pixies' 'Gigantic' featured in the XFM Scotland and XFM London sessions respectively.
'Do You Feel Safe?' was recorded with Dave Eringa (Idlewild, Manic Street Preachers) and released in early 2008.
The Xcerts have toured with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Make Model, Fighting With Wire, Fightstar and Twin Atlantic, and performed at numerous festivals in 2008 including T in the Park, RockNess, Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Zoo8, Offset and Connect Music Festival.
In December 2008, The Xcerts completed a Scottish headline tour with support from Aberdeen band Right Hand Left.
On the 22nd January 2009, The Xcerts confirmed that their album, 'In The Cold Wind We Smile' will be released on the 23rd March 2009 through Xtra Mile (Reuben, Million Dead, Frank Turner) and King Tuts Recordings (The Dykeenies, Twin Atlantic). This date was however pushed back to the 30th. They also confirmed that they will release single 'Crisis In The Slow Lane' on the 9th of March at the end of their tour with Copy Haho.
The Xcerts debut album, In The Cold Wind We Smile, was released on 30 March 2009 through Xtra Mile. It was produced by Dave Eringa[1]. On 1 August 2009 they played at the inaugural Hevy Music Festival held in Folkestone, UK.
In 2010 they completed another headline tour, supported The Get Up Kids and played many festivals notably playing the main stage at Rockness. They will also be embarking on a tour With Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, as well as a September tour supporting Futures.
The Xcerts announced on their facebook and myspace in July 2010 that their new album would be named "Scatterbrain" and released in October. This album was recorded by Mike Sapone in his home studio in America, The Xcerts are the first Scottish Band to work with Sapone
Current Members
Former Members
| Name | Label | B-side(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Breathtaking Fight" | One Records | Stay The Same | 18 December 2006 |
| "My Book Laughs" | One Records | Weather Warning | 30 April 2007 |
| "Just Go Home" | Mannequin Republic | Aberdeen 1987 | 19 November 2007 |
| "Do You Feel Safe?" | Mannequin Republic | Listen, Don't Panic | 14 April 2008 |
| "Crisis In the Slow Lane" | Xtra Mile/King Tuts Recordings | Weather Warning | 9 March 2009 |
| "Young (Belane)" | Xtra Mile Recordings | I Am Home | 27 September 2010 |
| Name (label) | Tracks | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| "One Time Too Many" (N/A) | Why do you? Bad Times Had Enough One Time Too Many |
2001 |
| "The X-certs EP" (Fat Hippy) | Stay The Same Into The Silence Long Ago Boy Darker Ages |
2003 |
| "Stairs To Noise: The Scatterbrain EP" (Xtra Mile) | Scatterbrain Tear Me Down Say Yes (Elliott Smith cover) Let's Run Slackerpop (Alternate version) |
7/03/2011 |
| "Slackerpop" (Xtra Mile) | Slackerpop Gum (Alternative version) He Sinks, He Sleeps (Alternative version) Young (Alternative version) I See Things Differently (Alternate version) |
31/10/2011 |
| Name | Label | Tracks | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| "In The Cold Wind We Smile" | Xtra Mile | In The Cold Wind We Smile Home Versus Home Nightschool Cool Ethan Lost But Not Alone Listen. Don't Panic Crisis In The Slow Lane Do You Feel Safe? Just Go Home Aberdeen 1987 I See Things Differently Hidden Track |
30 March 2009 |
| "Scatterbrain" | Xtra Mile | Tar Scatterbrain Distant Memory Gum Slackerpop I Scare Easy Young (Belane) He Sinks, He Sleeps Carnival Time Hurt With Me Lament |
4 October 2010 |
| Name | Label | Tracks | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Live At King Tut's" | Xtra Mile | Beige (live) Home Versus Home (live) Nightschool (live) Just Go Home (live) Aberdeen 1987 (live) Crisis In The Slow Lane (live) Do You Feel Safe? (live) I See Things Differently (live) |
(?) 2009 |
The following tracks have featured in live performances and/or been made available as demos online: