Ryan's Gig Guide - February 2018

r gg Feb 2018 - p.28 WWW. R YA N S G I G G U I D E . C OM MARCH 1 Slade Rooms r gg 23 YEARS 1995-2018 Buoyed by the response to There is OnlyYou, the band’s astonishing, life-affirming 2014 third album, The XCERTS were invigorated and inspired to create an 10-track love-letter to hope, belief and aspi- ration. Whilst the songs are shot through with sheer gutsy determination, they were written in strife but bolstered by a san- guine optimism. The album chronicles Macleod’s descent into the dark and his determination to crawl back into the light. “Hold OnToYour Heart is about finding a pinhole of light in the dark and turning it into the sun.We really did shoot for the stars with this one.” When Murray Macleod, frontman of The XCERTS, sur- mises the band’s new album, it’s with the same wild-eyed enthusiasm and passion with which he pens sing-along modern pop anthems infused with a thick layer of 80’s heartland rock. His proclamation of how music can turn the smallest pin- prick of light into a dazzling solar spec- tacle is the motivating thread that weaves throughout the album. Hold On ToYour Heart is a bold, pure love letter to a bygone era inked by a sentimental hopeless romantic. RGG have a pair of tickets to give away for this gig. Just send an email to the address below with ‘XCERTS’ in the subject title to be in with a chance of winning. media@rggmag.com