fat possum records Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

X “Smoke & Fiction”

sfilzen — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:26:28 +0000

X “Smoke & Fiction” 2024. Fat Possum Records, limited edition blue vinyl. The punk legends last record (their 9th LP). Smoke & Fiction went to no. 49 on the UK indie charts. We caught X on their farewell tour in July, a few weeks before the album’s release on August 2nd (they did have them for sale at the show but we had preordered the limited variant) and therefore weren’t familiar with the new material. But besides their amazing old catalogue which they absolutely nailed (highlights for me always “Los Angeles” and “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline”) They also slayed their new material – even though I hadn’t heard it til that night I certainly was dancing my ass off.

X at Turner Hall, Milwaukee July 2024

Smoke & Fiction is incredible, one of their best releases. My top picks are the thrashing “Sweet Til the Bitter End” (which is also a fantastic duet between John Doe and Exene), “Flipside” which is catchy, harmonic and ass-shaking, the title track “Smoke & Fiction” which has punk and bendy rockabilly guitar, DJ Bonebrake’s thundering drums on “Struggle” are fantastic (the dude does not age!) and the garage-rock stomping “Face in the Moon.”

We have seen X many times over the past 10/15 years or so and this was definitely one of the best shows. I think they love their new record as much as the fans and the enthusiasm for it — and knowing that they can finally get off the road and put their feet up (so to speak – I have a feeling they will all be involved in some music project or other moving forward) infused extra spark into the show.

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The Neckbones “The Lights Are Getting Dim”

sfilzen — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:19:45 +0000

The Neckbones “The Lights Are Getting Dim” 1999. Fat Possum Records. Holy s**t! We got to see the Neckbones (Oxford, Mississippi) this past weekend up in Green Bay at GBUFO Invasion Fest and it was amazing. The band really never plays out anymore except for a a Gonerfest appearance a few years ago so their 3 night mini-tour (Nashville, Milwaukee and Green Bay) was a total treat. Guitarist/ vocalist Tyler Keith: “This set of three shows is probably the most shows we’ve played since 2000 or something, almost 25 years.” (Shepherd Express)

Garage punk w/plenty of roadhouse blues accents, the Neckbones’ third and final release The Lights Are Getting Dim is lo-fi, high energy and ass-shaking. My top track is killer boogie-down “Cardiac Suture” which I’m pretty sure is the song at the show that I leapt out of our comfy booth for to snake through the crowd to get to the stage to see and hear up close (and stayed there for the remainder of the set). The rest of the album is also fantastic, including the opener “64 Days,” the raw, Stooges-esque “Vice Lord” and the ultra gritty and lo-fi “Get My Kicks.”

Here’s a video from like a million years ago of the Neckbones playing “Cardiac Suture” live in Detroit:

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X “Alphabetland”

sfilzen — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 18:01:56 +0000

X “Alphabetland” 2020. Fat Possum Records. Rough Trade white vinyl exclusive, limited edition of 400 copies. X’s first LP with the original lineup (John Doe, Exene Cervenka, DJ Bonebrake and Billy Zoom) since 1985 (!!!!). Released digitally in April 2020, the vinyl came out almost exactly one year ago from today on Aug. 29th 2020 (it hit the UK’s Record Store chart at #7 the last week of August ‘20, the first time X ever charted) and it’s taken me that long to break the seal and throw it on the turntable. What the hell was wrong with me to take so long??!! It is…amazing. They sound as strong and fast as they did on their groundbreaking debut in 1980. It’s tight tight tight (Bonebrake!), the guitar riffs are fast and punky (Billy Zoom!) and Exene’s and John’s voices still blend perfectly. I’m hard-pressed to pick top tracks because every single song is fantastic, but to narrow it down at least a little: the title track/opener “Alphabetland,” “Water & Wine,” the insane “Delta 88 Nightmare” (recorded in 2019 and released as a single backed with “Cyrano DeBerger’s Back,” before a new album was even planned) and the punk-ripper “Star Chambered.”

Our vinyl edition came with a two-sided poster: one side with the album cover and the other with the liner notes by author and musician Willy Vlautin.

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The Black Keys “Thickfreakness”

sfilzen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 17:11:39 +0000

The Black Keys “Thickfreakness” 2003. Fat Possum Records. I just dropped a huge chunk of change to get Black Keys concert tickets (we almost never go to big arena concerts anymore but we didn’t get a chance to see the Black Keys back when they were still relatively unknown) so I’m spinning their second LP as a reminder why I like them so much and to soothe my guilt over my sticker shock and my ire over the bullshit fees. Thickfreakness, like their first album The Big Come Up, is super-lo fi garage blues that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded in Carney’s basement on an 8-track recorder (they spent their advance from Fat Possum on rent instead of better equipment). They released three singles from Thickfreakness: “Set You Free” (which was included on the soundtrack for the movie School of Rock), “Hard Row” (one of my favorites) and “Have Love Will Travel” (also one of my favorites, it’s a cover of the song originally by Richard Berry – of “Louie Louie” fame – in 1959). Another great cover on Thickfreakness is their rendition of Junior Kimbrough’s “Everywhere I Go.” Kimbrough’s spirit can be felt through most of The Black Keys early sound so it’s not surprising they pay respect to him here.

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