The Xcerts – Hold On To Your Heart
Release Date: 19th January 2018
Label: Raygun Records
The Xcerts are originally a Scottish rock three piece more comfortably comparable to Snow Patrol than Biffy Clyro and their latest album, Hold On To Your Heart, epitomises this. It’s the kind of rock your Mum goes “ooh I like this one” when you play her some songs you’ve been listening to.
The opening of this review probably reads negatively, but that is only half accurate. What the now Brighton based trio do here, as with the rest of their career to date, they do very well, that is never in doubt. Each track is beautifully crafted and lyrically it is engaging throughout, if not a bit clichéd in places. Tracks like ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ echo this, with the chorus repeating the track’s title a few times. If you’re in that place in your life where you connect to this then the song will feel like the best song you’ve ever heard, otherwise it may come across a bit too sickly.
The album as a whole is tasteful and would be strong backing music at a quiet gathering. The penultimate track, ‘Show Me Beautiful’, sums up the entirety of the album in truth. It’s well written, it’s catchy and vocally it lives up to the name of the track. ‘Cry’ closes the album off with a soft and slow song focusing on heartbreak, as much of the album does. One song that doesn’t conform to this is ‘Drive Me Wild’, it’s a much more upbeat track than some of the others on show, though it could easily be compared to fun. with a bit of brass on show and a similar vocal styling.
There is a time and a place for every genre and this right here is no different. The songwriting, as previously mentioned, is top drawer but the main problem is that, apart from ‘Daydream’ which has airs of Bryan Adams, it can feel like it just plods along a tad. As an album it is quite forgettable, though there are some good individual tracks to check out. The Xcerts have a decent catalogue that they’re building up and this album will help them freshen up their live sets, which really is where the band excels for me.
Recommended Tracks: Crazy, Drive Me Wild
Rating: 6/10
Keep up with the band on their website & Facebook