The Xcerts - Stairs to Noise

Early on in their career you could hear hints of what naysayers called a ‘Biffy-lite’ sound. Then again, any Scottish band that writes catchy pop-rock songs with a grungey tinge is going to have that accusation thrown at them. Many bands have also struggled to shrug that off and emerge with a sound of their own. The Xcerts are not one of those bands. They’ve toured extensively, released two well received albums, recorded sessions for broadcast radio and had music videos played on MTV2. This is mainly due to three things; hard work, strong songwriting and a loyal and ever-expanding fanbase. It’s this fanbase that the group are paying thanks to with the release of Stairs to Noise, as frontman Murray Macleod says of the EP:

"We had some tracks left over from the album sessions we did in New York that we really liked but didn’t work with the flow of the record so rather than just release another single, we decided to put these songs onto an EP along with a specially recorded cover Elliot Smith’s ‘Say Yes’ to sell at a reduced price as a reward for our fans loyalty."

The first track on the EP, Scatterbrain, is taken from the album of the same name released at the tail end of last year. It’s an absolute thumper of a track; thunderous drums, distortion, shouty vocals and a little bit stop start in places. It slows down a little and then really starts to show off the band’s indie-grunge influences before the deceptively explosive finale. The next track, Tear Me Down, has ended up being my favourite song from the EP. Just listen to that false build-up in the chorus before it turns back to the understated verse which then starts building up a little more before becoming a cathartic, anthemic, lighters in the air kind of song that established bands have trouble pulling off with consistency. The rhythm section of Jordan Smith on bass and Tom Heron on drums just lend to how huge this track really is. I mean, this is a leftover from the album sessions so if you haven’t already heard the album then you should probably think about picking it up, eh? Sorry for waffling, I just love me a big track like this. Magic. Next up is Say Yes, a fairly true-to-the-original Elliot Smith cover. It’s a big credit to the band that they manage to do it a great deal of justice without feeling the need to ‘make it their own’. Rather, it’s a lovely tribute to a modern maestro while fitting in with the overall theme of cautionary tales that make up this EP. Lets Run is a gorgeous slow-burner of a song with a similar sort of structure to Tear Me Down although musically it’s closer to the songs from their debut album In the Cold Wind We Smile while remaining lyrically closer to the Scatterbrain album. Mannequin Champion is an interesting closer. A reworked version of Slackerpop, they underline the slowed-tempo with strings, swooshy electronic noises and piano chords.

If you’re new to The Xcerts then I’d recommend starting with their albums before picking this up. I’m by no means implying that it’s a lazy stop-gap EP for the true fans only, but with a band like this it’s important to get the backstory so you can understand the next chapter a bit better. Besides which, as the strength of the ‘leftover’ songs on this EP suggest, best familiarise yourself with them now before they explode.

Stairs to Noise: The Scatterbrain EP is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings.

LD