Interview: The Xcerts’ Murray Macleod talks new album

The Excerts
The Xcerts (Murray Macleod left) Photo taken from their official Facebook page.

Scottish band The Xcerts recently played at 2000 Trees Festival last weekend on the Thursday where they got the three day event off with a bang. Having been around 15 years now, it was no wonder why the Aberdeen based three piece band got such a good reception. The guys released There Is Only You back in 2014 and will play a three date tour in August that included the O2 Ritz Manchester (17th), O2 Institute2 Birmingham (18th) and O2 Forum Kentish Town (19th). They will also being playing the up and coming festival Fort Fest in September. Listen to Shaking In The Water from the band’s latest 2014 album There Is Only You below.

I managed to catch up with Murray at 2000 Trees where the 27 year old described his experience and said: ‘It was amazing, yeah it was fantastic, we played on Thursday, a full band set on the Cage stage and it was a little bit overwhelming.

‘Then we played an acoustic stage on Friday, I didn’t think anyone would show up then a lot of them showed up.’

With The Xcerts last studio album approaching two years since its release, fans must be wondering when the next one is out so Murray gave a quick update on the new album and commented: ‘We’re currently writing and demoing right now for our new album, it’s going really really well, I think it’s going to have 15 songs.

‘We’re going to write up until we go to the studio, it’s going to be great.

‘We’ve got a few festivals but then we’re going on tour with Motion City Soundtrack. I think It’s only three shows but yeah it should be good, we’ve been busy recording so we shall see.’

When asked about the EU Referendum, it’s always going to be a touchy subject for a Scotsman

‘It all depends whether Britain actually leaves.

‘Failing that, I’m going to go home and there’s going to be a referendum in Scotland and I’m going to get a Scottish Passport and I’m going to tour for free.

‘If Scotland becomes independent, we will join the EU and everything will be okay.

‘And also I want to say this Nicola Sturgeon is the fucking bomb.’

Finally I asked what the fans meant to him, after he took selfies with some girls going up to him, he responded and said: ‘Honestly it means everything, it really does, it seems a bit cheesy but we’ve been in this band since we were 14.

‘That’s like half my life, the fact that anyone gives a crap about the band, well it just means the world to us.’