Stream: X, ‘Alphabetland’

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X, at the Grammy Museum in 2017 (Photo by Alison Buck)

Never has a band who’s celebrated so many birthdays sounded so young.

The legendary X released their new album “Alphabetland” this morning — the first new full-length from the band’s original lineup in 35 years. The digital release arrives almost exactly 40 years after the quartet’s debut, “Los Angeles,” which was released this week in 1980.

(X and their label, Fat Possum, originally planned to release the new album in August, and that’s when the vinyl is scheduled to be ready, barring coronavirus-related delays. John Doe explains the reasoning behind the early release in today’s interview with the L.A. Times.)

The band — Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake (ages 64 to 72) — recorded “Alphabetland” with producer Rob Schnapf over two sessions, one in late 2018 and one this past January. Two songs, “Delta 88 Soundtrack” and “Cyrano de Berger’s Back,” came out on a 7-inch in November. The album artwork is the work of Wayne White, the longtime set designer for “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.”

The album rips (and we mean shreds) through 11 tracks in a tidy 27 minutes, ending with a spoken-word track by Cervenka. Especially on the first three tracks, “Alphabetland” is full of piss and vinegar lyrically, each track going off like a firecracker. Doe and Cervenka trade off lead and backing vocal duties, each caterwauling with the poetic urgency that has transcended decades — and which fans have been reminded of in their recent uptick of live performances (X had been scheduled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Los Angeles” at the Wiltern this Friday night, but alas.)

Cervenka put it all in perspective in the closer: “All the time in the world turns out not to be that much.”

||| Stream: “Alphabetland”