THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Being great is one thing. Staying great for a long time is another. X have been great for 47 years, building their legend as one of America’s most original punk bands with seven albums between 1980 and 1993. Smoke & Fiction will be their ninth and final album. Yes, you read that right. It’s their last hurrah.
Produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Foo Fighters), Smoke & Fiction promises to deliver everything we’ve come to love and expect from X. But it’s more than just another punk record—it’s a poignant reflection on the band’s journey, a valedictory lap that celebrates the people and experiences that shaped their remarkable career. Each song on Smoke & Fiction is a testament to X‘s enduring legacy. With haunting melodies, pounding rhythms, and the unmistakable vocal interplay of bassist John Doe and singer Exene Cervenka, this album is a fitting finale to a storied career.
The poignant first single Big Black X reflects on the early history of the band, their life in Hollywood, and the events unfolding in the world during those formative years. Singer Exene Cervenka reflects on the band’s unique choice of their moniker: “X is a great band name; also a bad idea sometimes when it gets lost in print or on the marquee. Gotta have a sense of humor. We all did in the early days. Los Angeles was a carnival of weirdness back then, with left over traces of silent movie stars, long haired hippies, bikers, and brand new self-defined punks doing anything we wanted. When we started touring the country we found like-minded people everywhere, and somehow they all found us. Even if the X was lost on the old marquee.”
Driven by the unmatched chemistry of its members, X‘s music transcends genres, drawing from jazz, folk, country, and rockabilly to create something truly timeless. And as they bid farewell, X remind us that true greatness lies not only in individual talent but in the unwavering bond of a band united by a shared love for their craft. As Exene once said, “I want to create something that’s such a perfect expression of what I felt that whoever comes across it will feel the same emotion, get it completely, and say ‘Yeah, me too.’ ” With Smoke & Fiction, X achieve just that — delivering a final masterpiece that encapsulates the essence of their decades-long journey. This is one of those moments to not miss. Join us as we celebrate the legacy of X and bid farewell to an era. Smoke & Fiction is coming — prepare to be amazed one last time.
Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of L.A.’s flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring Exene, Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released in 1978, followed by seven studio albums. Their first two LPs, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked among the top 500 greatest albums of all time. Over the years, the band garnered critical acclaim, topped charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top TV shows such from The Late Show With David Letterman to American Bandstand. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary with a Grammy Museum exhibit, a proclamation from the City of Los Angeles and being honored at a Dodgers game where Exene threw out the first pitch and John sang the anthem. The band continue to tour with the original lineup.”
