Billed because the band’s closing album, Smoke & Fiction is a satisfying closing chapter for X, the pioneering band whose breakneck rhythms and turbo-charged rockabilly riffs got here blazing out of Los Angeles’s nascent punk scene within the late Nineteen Seventies. Forty-four years after their debut, 1980’s Los Angeles, the group sounds vigorous and warranted, discovering contemporary inspiration in acquainted sounds, feelings, and concepts.
Chaos was central to X’s enchantment within the early days. The intertwined lead vocals of John Doe and Exene Cerevenka instructed that the one-time couple have been embroiled in an ongoing argument; guitarist Billy Zoom added to the frenzy, although he by no means forgot the swing of early rock’n’roll, even when chasing after the speed of the Ramones. Inherently empathetic to the wants of his singers, drummer D.J. Bonebrake supplied a gentle anchor—although he, too, may often get caught up within the band’s feverish pleasure.
The band thrived on stress, channeling interpersonal drama and clashes with the tradition at giant right into a potent songbook that sustained them many years after they stopped writing new materials. In 2020, following a succession of lineup adjustments, hiatuses, and reunions, the group unexpectedly returned with the sharp, full of life ALPHABETLAND, its first album of latest materials from the unique quartet in 35 years.
The main focus and urgency of Smoke & Fiction makes ALPHABETLAND appear like a dry run. A part of that stems from the palpable sense that the band can really feel the clock ticking away. Annoyed that they have been unable to tour ALPHABETLAND, which landed within the early days of the pandemic, and keenly conscious of their advancing ages—Cervenka and Bonebrake are pushing 70, whereas Doe and Zoom are over that line—X selected to re-run the play another time. Teaming once more with producer Rob Schnapf, who additionally helmed ALPHABETLAND, X knocked out Smoke & Fiction in a couple of days this previous January—a working band working within the technique that fits them. (To underscore the upcoming sense of finality, they’ve dubbed their new tour the Finish Is Close to.)
Clocking in at 28 minutes, roughly the identical size as Los Angeles, Smoke & Fiction sounds as if X is drawing inspiration from its lengthy historical past, purposefully recalling the kinetic rock’n’roll of the band’s early data for Slash. As Doe defined to the Los Angeles Occasions, “It’s not in our nature to reinvent issues. Now we have a transparent concept of who we’re.” As strong as they sound, Doe’s and Cervenka’s voices present indicators of wear and tear, whereas the rhythms really feel heavier than previously, even when the tempos quicken. These parts lend pure grain to the music, including depth to the tales of getting older that riddle Smoke & Fiction.
