Smoke & Fiction

As some sage said many years ago, half the battle of life is just showing up, and for many fans of the great L.A. punk band X, their 2020 album Alphabetland was a cause for celebration simply because it existed. It marked the first time the definitive X lineup of John Doe (bass and vocals), Exene Cervenka (vocals), Billy Zoom (guitar), and D.J. Bonebrake (drums) had released a fresh studio album since 1985s misbegotten Aint Love Grand, and the fact it documented them in fine and fiery form playing some good-to-great new songs was something many folks had been dreaming of for decades. It arrived when the members of X were well past standard punk retirement age (Zoom was 72 when Alphabetland was issued), and though they hardly sounded AARP eligible on-stage or in the studio, the rigors of touring and the diminishing returns of releasing albums in the age of streaming were starting to take their toll. When X announced the upcoming release of Smoke & Fiction in June 2024, it came with an unexpected footnote -- it would be their final album, and the extensive tour that coincided with the release would be their last. Its not impossible that X will change their minds, but as Smoke & Fiction became available, the youngest member of the band, Cervenka, was 67 years old, and finality is a major theme on the album. Many of the songs on Smoke & Fiction look to the past, both as a band and as individuals, as they contemplate where theyve been and where theyve ended up. This is most explicit on "Big Black X," a remembrance of their barnstorming days in the 1980s, but "Sweet til the Bitter End" and "Face in the Moon" both recall the sweet-and-sour relationship songs that were a major part of Xs early repertoire, and Doe and Cervenkas harmonies are as eloquent and urgent as ever. (Theyre also in great voice individually, and Doe in particular shows a tremendous command of his instrument.) X sound stronger and more confident here than they did on Alphabetland, aiming for a sound thats darker and more textured, and Zooms Americana-meets-Johnny Ramone guitar work and Bonebrakes straightforward but brilliantly detailed drumming drive the songs with power and smarts. Smoke & Fiction doesnt concern itself with mortality so much as how the passage of time shapes us, and the ways the past and the present connect us all. Its clever, thoughtful, and full of heart and soul -- all hallmarks of Xs best music -- and it ponders a lot of emotional space even as the impact of the music brings heady joy to those who ever appreciated L.A.s finest punk band. If Smoke & Fiction proves to be Xs final musical statement, they go out as they came in -- unique, ferociously talented, and with plenty to say thats worth hearing, and theyve stayed that way as the curtain falls. ~ Mark Deming

LAパンクの大御所がラスト・アルバムとなる9作目を発表。今作もデビューから変わらぬシンプルなロックンロールを鳴らし、男女ツイン・ヴォーカルの掛け合いも相性抜群である。とにかく、軽快に刻まれる滋味豊かなアンサンブルは誰もマネできない心地良さ。カントリーのロカビリーを素養を下敷きに、肩の力を抜いた自然体のリズムとメロディーに身体が反応してしまう。
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