EP Review // THE XCERTS ‘Wildheart Dreaming’
Following on from the release of their last brilliant album Hold On To Your Heart, The Xcerts have produced a new EP called Wildheart Dreaming.
You Mean Everything opens Wildheart Dreaming, its simplicity creating a sense of serenity. The message of the song is clearly portrayed as Murray Macleod repeats the lyrics ‘you mean everything’. Ready To Call carries the same tone as the first track but with a more insistent tapping drum beat unlike the previous song, pulling up the brightness of the track, especially when accompanied with the cheery piano pieces.
Fight Or Run is much like The Xcerts earlier work, more upbeat and demanding attention, transitioning from calm verses to punching choruses. Real Love is stripped back and beautiful. Murray’s vocals at the forefront of the track, raw, powerful and rustic sounding, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. The lyrics are touching ‘If this is real love then do not wake me up. If this is a dream then it’s all that I want’.
The EP as a whole is very emotional and moving, full of wistful nostalgia back to the early days of The Xcerts and songs like Aberdeen 1987 and There Is Only You. Wildheart Dreaming lives up to the high standard The Xcerts’ have set for themselves, producing a brilliant EP where every track stands alone and is capturing and surreal. These songs are going to sound beautiful when performed live next month.