Spectreview: X – ALPHABETLAND

X’s first album in almost 35 years finds the iconic LA punk band mostly back to business, in an often thrillingly vibrant fashion.

-PURPLE-

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“We have all the time in the world
Until the limitless possibilities
Of youthful infinity
Turn into mortality”

Well, X are back. And sounding not terribly different than when we last heard them, on 1987’s See How We Are. Yet like a tightly-sealed time capsule, ALPHABETLAND showcases almost everything we knew and loved about the pioneering LA punk band; well, everything except the youth part. At this point, punk music of this variety has been folded over and over like hard candy, and there are parts of this release that lean a little too close to complacent legacy acts like, say, Pearl Jam. But there are also parts that feel thrillingly vibrant, like the great first impression of the schoolyard-like opening title track and the uptempo rockabilly of “Delta 88 Nightmare.” Really, it’s kind of insane a group of people that are all right on the cusp of receiving AARP checks can churn out such impressive-sounding classic punk, and that’s something that can’t be overlooked.

Lyrically, X impress just as often here. The band were originally hailed for their combination of straightforward songwriting and poetic depth, and that unique alchemy exists in spades on this release. Exene Cervenka and John Doe are back in near full force, and their words run the gamut from being blackly comedic (“Star Chambered”) to explicitly political (“Free”) to downright horny (the excellent “I Gotta Fever”). Overall, the dominant mood here is one of pleasant surprise. True, there are some outdated references and a couple of stale moments thrown in, like the oddly out-of-place “Cyran deBerger’s Back” or the well-intentioned but somewhat musty spoken-word outro “All the Time In the World.” Even then, that last track covers so many bases it’s hard to make heads or tails of it: in a sense, we get to hear Cervenka’s voice as it is now instead of a willful facsimile of what it used to be, and its nihilistic outlook, combined with that strange piano track, feels like a poignant peek behind the curtain. By its end, all that’s left is an awareness of the cold passage of time. Mostly though, we’re just happy to see some legends get right back to it, time be damned.

Recommended for keeping the dream alive.