Faced with the threat of stagnation, many major artists with a distinctive sound are sometimes reluctant to turn their backs on what once made them famous. Those who successfully cross the crossroads between artistic maturation and sustained commercialism make the transition in different ways—some dramatically, some successfully, and some quite nobly. Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, and more recently Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus come to mind as very visible examples of artists who have successfully followed their artistic muse in whatever direction it has led. Casual fans may avoid more sophisticated releases or quietly turn away if they don’t like what they hear. (All fans of Pat Metheny’s 1994 release on Geffen, Zero tolerance for silenceout there?)

However, the oft-quoted cliché of a “return to form” has often been invoked when referring to artists from the traditional world who, late in their careers, achieved an unexpected stroke of genius. But in the case of Smoke & Fictionthe new studio album from Los Angeles roots-punk legends, X, that sentence is perhaps apt. After the band garnered widespread acclaim in the early 1980s with a quartet of universally beloved, era-defining albums on Slash and Elektra, there were those who felt the band had lost its way as it sought wider horizons. Accordingly, Smoke & Fictionreleased on August 2, 2024 via Fat Possum, could be just the elixir that old and new X-fans need to revive interest in the group and their back catalogue – especially the first two albums on Slash, April 1980s Los Angeles and May 1981 Wild Gift.

Before we delve deeper into the sound of Smoke & Fictiona brief overview of the crucial DNA specifications is in order. We had to dig around a bit, as the album notes don’t give away 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 on Discogs that indicated the album had been made at Memphis Record Pressing. Looking closely at the run-out groove on the LP itself, we see the signature of noted vinyl mastering engineer Jeff Powell etched into the dead wax, leading us to conclude that the lacquers were cut at his Take Out Vinyl facility at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis.

The recommended retail price for the standard black vinyl version Smoke & Fiction costs a fairly reasonable $26.99 and can be ordered directly from the Music Direct link graphic at the bottom of this review. (Note that other retailers charge as much as $30 and sometimes more.) The vinyl options in multiple colors—some of which are exclusive to indie record stores, as far as I know—seem to be a bit more expensive. The blue vinyl edition I bought from Strand Records in San Francisco, for example, cost $35.98 (before tax).

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

The only problem I had with this record was getting it out of the sleeve! My blue LP was very jammed tightly inside, so go slowly when you first try to pull the CD out. My CD eventually came out without a hitch—no scratches or scuffs on the vinyl, no tears in the case—but I put the CD in its own plastic sleeve for future storage so I wouldn’t have to go through that frustrating process again. (You might want to do the same.)

Purpose limitation Smoke & Fiction as their “last” official album, X supposedly wanted to go out on a very high level by recovering much of the original energy of those holy days. On the whole, I think they succeeded. Well, to be honest, I can’t say that the world’s largest X fan, but I have at least one album of theirs that I love from start to finish — 1983’s More fun in the New Worldon Elektra. I got on the X city bus (if you will) with this album, which remains my favorite of the group’s albums. For me, it was the perfect balance between their raw early sound and that little bit of extra production finesse and compositional maturity that took them to new heights sonically and musically. I consider “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” (Side One, Track 7) to be the best song The Doors never wrote – and it’s not surprising that it was produced to sound a little like them, since Doors keyboardist and X discoverer/champion Ray Manzarek produced the album (just as he did the other three of X’s first four LPs).

Oddly enough, I never got much further on my X journey, even though I tried most of the albums over the years. Still, I always had a lot of respect for the group as a whole. Let me put it this way: I’m a bigger fan of 1985 Poor little animal on the street (on Slash) by her side project band The Knitters as X’s own release in the same year on Elektra, Isn’t love great (the first of their albums not produced by Manzarek).

Putting aside the discussions about a return to form, the bottom line is that this new X album is a damn good listen from start to finish. Smoke & Fiction is a taut 10-song triumph that satisfies sexual cravings and easily stands alongside the band’s previous masterpieces.

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 (imaginary or not). Had the late, great frontman of The Doors gotten sober and lived a longer life, this song would sound like what I imagine a wistful Jim Morrison would sing today if he covered this tune. I can hear him singing the following lines: “That’s just how it was / We fell on the street / We did what we did / To set each other free / That’s just how it was / That’s just how it must be.” Seriously, X singer/bassist John Doe sounds very Morrison-like at times – and that is not a bad thing.

It’s so refreshing to hear a hard rock album with a punk twist that doesn’t forget to deliver strong hooks and catchy tunes. Younger bands can learn a lot from these seasoned roots punk warriors.

As for the sound quality, I think Smoke & Fiction is pretty good overall – at least as upbeat, modern hard rock records go. Since it was recorded in several different studios, I wouldn’t be surprised if this album was at least partially a digitally derived recording. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Smoke & Fiction delivers a fresh taste, but not in a problematic way. X have recorded Burdens of amplifier sound and drum resonance here if you pay attention.

My litmus test was to simply turn up the volume and find that the overall sound texture of the album did not bother my ears. In fact, it became quite clear to me that Smoke & Fiction is best when you play it loudThe record doesn’t fall apart at higher volumes, nor does it degenerate into a mass of crunchy, chewy hardness – in fact, the album seems to become more coherent when you turn the volume up to 11.

I really like the guitar sounds of Billy Zoom, and also the richness of the vocals of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. The power of the whole band is expressed with great clarity on Smoke & Fictionespecially the driving drumming of DJ Bonebrake. The smacking tom-tom hits on “Face in the Moon” (side 2, track 4) are simply brilliant.

Remember folks, this is a hard-hitting, punk-fueled rock’n’roll experience, so don’t expect Steely Dan-level super-dynamic purity from this LP. Smoke & Fiction is a hard-hitting, hard-hitting power trio of snarling guitars, powerful drums and driving bass – with periodic overdrive, distortion and supersaturation included, at no extra cost. Set your expectations accordingly for the heart of the storm.

So how do we rate an album like this? For the music, we simply give Smoke & Fiction a 9 rating. It is the first X-music I feel connected to since my favorite LP of theirs, the above mentioned More fun in the New World. As for the sound quality, I’d first like to give a shout out to Take Out Vinyl’s mastering wizard Jeff Powell, who cut the lacquers – and that probably helped make the vinyl sound as good as it could, especially when played on average audiophile home audio equipment. Powell has struck a nice balance here Smoke & FictionTherefore, we give this LP an easy 8 in the sound rating for what it is – a not perfect, but solid rock’n’roll album that is incredibly fun to listen to.

And by the way, I can’t always say that these days. For example – and for comparison – I looked at another good hard rock LP by Green Day that I reviewed earlier this year: their latest studio album on Reprise, savior. I wish The Album even sounded half as good as Smoke & Fiction While the music on savior was perfectly fine, but as a listening experience on vinyl, the album left a lot to be desired. (If you want to know why, you can re-read my January 26, 2024 review of this album here.)

I think the best compliment I can give here is that X’s Smoke & Fiction does the best for every artist/band — it enthusiastic She makes me want to hear more of her music. I know that I, for example, Smoke & Fiction I will be listening to LP again soon and will delve into the rest of the X-catalogue with open ears and an 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 resume on LinkedIn.

X

SMOKE & FICTION

1LP (Fat Possum)

Page 1

1. Ruby Church

2. Sweet to the bitter end

3. That’s how it is

4. Downside

5. Big Black X

Page 2

1. Smoke & Fiction

2. Surreal

3. Wind up the time

4. Face in the Moon

5. Baby & Everything

The state of X: The 2024 edition of X is still in full swing. Both band photos in this review by Gilbert Trejo.