Album Reviews

At risk of stagnation, many great artists who have a distinctive sound are sometimes hesitant to turn their backs on what first put them on the map. Those who successfully traverse the crossroads of artistic maturation and continued commerce make the transition in different ways — some dramatically, some successfully, and some quite nobly. Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, and, more recently, the likes of Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus come to mind as highly visible examples of artists who have successfully pursued their artistic muse in whatever direction it takes them. Casual fans may pass on more challenging releases or quietly move on if what they hear is not to their liking. (Any fans of Pat Metheny’s 1994 effort on Geffen, Zero Tolerance for the Silence, out there?)

That said, the much bandied-about cliché of a “return to form” has been dragged out many times when referring to legacy artists who deliver an unexpected late-career masterstroke. But in the case of Smoke & Fiction, the new studio album by Los Angeles roots-punk legends X, the phrase may very well be warranted. After achieving significant acclaim in the early 1980s for a quartet of generally beloved era-defining albums on Slash and Elektra, there are those who felt the band lost their way as they reached for broader vistas. Accordingly, Smoke & Fiction, which was released via Fat Possum on August 2, 2024, may be just the elixir X fans old and new may need to revive deeper interest in the group and their back catalog — especially those first two albums on Slash, April 1980’s Los Angeles and May 1981’s Wild Gift.

Before we go deeper into the sound of Smoke & Fiction, a quick rundown of its crucial DNA specs is in order. We had to do a little bit of sleuthing, as the album notes don’t reveal all the details. Produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Guided By Voices, Elliott Smith) and engineered by Matt Schuessler, Smoke & Fiction was mastered by Mark Chalecki at Little Red Book Mastering in Los Angeles. I found a test pressing listed on Discogs that indicated the album had been manufactured at Memphis Record Pressing. Looking closely at the runout groove on the LP itself, we see noted vinyl disc mastering engineer Jeff Powell’s signature etched into the dead wax, which leads us to conclude the lacquers were cut at his Take Out Vinyl facility within the Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis.

The SRP for the standard black vinyl version of Smoke & Fiction is a quite reasonable $26.99, and it can be ordered directly via the Music Direct link graphic at the end of this review. (Note that other retailers are charging up to, and sometimes beyond, $30.) Multiple color vinyl options — some of them being indie record store exclusives, as far as I can tell — seem to be somewhat higher priced. For example, the blue vinyl edition I purchased at San Francisco’s Strand Records rang up as $35.98 (before taxes).

My copy of this standard-weight Smoke & Fiction LP actually sounds quite good. The vinyl is well-centered and quiet. The powers that be wisely pressed the album in opaque colors — besides blue, there are also green, red, and yellow versions — so it doesn’t have the telltale surface noise that can often riddle color vinyl pressings (especially multi-color and/or “swirl” options).

The only problem I had with this record was simply getting the disc out of its inner sleeve! My blue LP was very tightly wedged inside it. So, do go slowly when trying to pull out the disc for the first time. I eventually got mine released without incident — no scratches or scuffs on the vinyl, nor any tears to the sleeve — but I did put the disc in its own plastic sleeve for future storage so I wouldn’t have to go through that frustrating hassle again. (You might want to follow suit.)

Earmarking Smoke & Fiction as their “last” official album, X reportedly wanted to go out on a very high note by recapturing much of that original energy from those hallowed days gone by. In general, I think they succeeded. Now, truth be told, I can’t claim to be the world’s greatest X fan, but I’ve got at least one album of theirs that I do really love start to finish — 1983’s More Fun in the New World, on Elektra. I boarded the X town bus (if you will) with that album, which remains my favorite by the group. For me, it struck the perfect balance between their raw early sound and that slight bit of extra production finesse and compositional maturity that elevated them sonically and musically. I consider “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” (Side One, Track 7) the best song The Doors never wrote — and, not surprisingly, it was produced to sound a bit like them, given that Doors keyboardist and X discoverer/champion Ray Manzarek produced the album (just as he did with the other three of X’s first four LPs).

Curiously, I never went much further on my X journey, despite having tried most of the albums over the years. Regardless, I have always had a strong respect for the group as a whole. I’ll put it this way — I’m a bigger fan of 1985’s Poor Little Critter on the Road (on Slash) by their side-project band The Knitters than X’s own release that same year on Elektra, Ain’t Love Grand (the first of their albums not to be produced by Manzarek).

Return-to-form discussions aside, this new X album is, bottom line, a pretty darn great listen, end to end. Smoke & Fiction is a tight, 10-song triumph that satisfies that X itch and can sit comfortably alongside the band’s earlier masterworks.

Some of my favorite songs so far include “Flipside” (Side 1, Track 4), and the title track “Smoke & Fiction” (Side 2, Track 1). “The Way It Is” (Side 1, Track 3) has a great hook, and I can’t help but make another Doors connection here (imagined or otherwise). Had The Doors’ late, great frontman sobered up and lived a longer life, this song sounds like what I imagine a wistful Jim Morrison might be singing today if he wound up covering this tune. I can hear him singing the following lyrics: “That’s just the way it was / We fell down on the street / We did what we did / To set each other free / That’s just the way it was / The way it’s gotta be.” Seriously, X singer/bassist John Doe sounds very Morrison-esque at times — and that is not a bad thing.

It is so refreshing to hear a hard-rocking, punk-leaning album that doesn’t forget the need for delivering strong hooks and earworms. Younger bands can take a few lessons from these experienced roots-punk warriors.

As far as the sound quality goes, I think Smoke & Fiction is pretty good overall — at least as bright, modern hard-rock records go. Seeing how it was recorded in several different studios, I would not be surprised if this album was at least partially a digitally derived recording. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, mind you. Smoke & Fiction delivers a crisp flavor, but not in a problematic way. X have captured loads of amplifier tone and drum resonance here, if you listen for it.

To that, my litmus test was simply turning up the volume and finding the album’s overall sonic texture did not bother my ears. In fact, it became pretty clear to me that Smoke & Fiction is at its best when you play it loud. The record doesn’t fall apart at higher volume levels, nor into in a mass of crunchy-munchy harshness — in fact, the album seems to come together more cohesively whenever you drive it upwards towards 11.

I like the guitar tones here from Billy Zoom very much, and also the richness of the vocals from John Doe and Exene Cervenka. The power of the full band comes through with great clarity on Smoke & Fiction, especially the propulsive drumming of D.J. Bonebrake. Just dig those smacking-thracking tom-tom hits on “Face in the Moon” (Side 2, Track 4).

Remember folks, this is a hard rocking, punk-fueled rock & roll experience, so don’t come into this LP expecting to hear super-dynamic, Steely Dan-level purity. Smoke & Fiction is a balls-to-the-wall, smash-’em-up, rock ’em sock ’em power-trio wall of snarling guitars, powerhouse drums, and driving bass — with periodic overdrive, distortion, and oversaturation included, no extra charge. Set expectations accordingly for the heart of the storm.

So how do we rate an album like this? For the Music, we easily give Smoke & Fiction a 9 rating. It’s the first X music I’ve connected with since my favorite LP of theirs, the aforementioned More Fun in the New World. As for the sound quality, first, I’ll offer up some kudos to Take Out Vinyl mastering wizard Jeff Powell, who cut the lacquers — and that probably helped ensure the vinyl would sound as good as possible, especially when played on average to audiophile-grade home audio gear. Powell found a nice balance here on Smoke & Fiction, so, for the Sound rating, we give this LP an easy 8 for what it is — a not-perfect but solid rock & roll album that is immensely enjoyable to listen to.

And, by the way, I can’t always say that sort of thing these days. For example — and for comparison — I went back to another good hard-rocker of an LP I reviewed earlier this year by Green Day: their most recent studio album on Reprise, Saviors. I wish that album sounded even half as good as Smoke & Fiction does. While the music on Saviors was perfectly fine, as a listening experience on vinyl, the album left much to be desired. (If you are curious to learn why, go here to revisit my review of that album, which posted on January 26, 2024.)

I guess the best compliment I can offer here is that X’s Smoke & Fiction does the best possible thing for any artist/band — it excites you, and makes you want to listen to more of their music. I know that I, for one, will be playing my Smoke & Fiction LP again soon, and will also be digging back in to revisit the rest of the X catalog with refreshed open ears and open mind. You should too.

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

X
SMOKE & FICTION
1LP (Fat Possum)

Side 1
1. Ruby Church
2. Sweet Til The Bitter End
3. The Way It Is
4. Flipside
5. Big Black X

Side 2
1. Smoke & Fiction
2. Surreal
3. Winding Up The Time
4. Face In The Moon
5. Baby & All