The Xcerts: i think i want to go home now

Scottish rockers The Xcerts return with a fresh batch of songs reflecting on loss, grief, anger and the passage of time. The new record, entitled i think i want to go home now, is out 10 July, 2026, via FLG Records, and it has something for both longtime fans and first-timers (such as myself) to enjoy. 

Stylistically reminiscent of the early-’00s “emo pop” scene made popular by bands like Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional and The Early November, i think i want to go home now is at once melodic, punchy and teeming with an energy that feels like it’s spilling over the limits of the speakers. The synaesthete in me sees these songs like a summer thunderstorm from childhood, where the threat of lightning is secondary to the thrill of the humid air and feeling the rain on your skin (thanks, Ms. Bedingfield). The Xcerts combine the confidence of a band in its second decade of existence with the youthful sound of a band just debuting, and the result is a masterful balancing act of power and tenderness.

But underneath the urgency of the production and songwriting, there is a layer of haze and fuzz that adds texture and grit to the music and makes it feel more personal. Recording and production techniques are often seen as separate from the music, but more often than not they are just as valuable as the composition and can push the emotional weight of the music to new heights. When dealing with heavy subject matter, as i think i want to go home now does, it’s beneficial for the sound to be a bit less polished than usual to convey the delicate mental and emotional states behind the record.

Fellow countrymen such as Mogwai, Boards Of Canada, Big Country and Belle And Sebastian have an instantly recognizable Scottish-ness to them that The Xcerts share as well, injecting a hint of Highland air into the music that firmly grounds them to their homeland. I don’t know how to explain this any better, but it sounds like the crisp, foggy air of a late-autumn morning when the ground is adorned with a hint of frost and the sun has just begun to peek over the horizon, diffusing its rays through the moisture in the air. i think i want to go home now is sure to be a modern power pop classic that will hit home with the indie kids, the punk rockers, the emos, the shoegazers and maybe even some metalheads; there’s a treat for everyone here!