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.