X Announce Final Album And Tour
Los Angeles punk veterans X are calling it quits. Today (June 25), the band announced plans to release their final album, Smoke & Fiction, on Aug. 2 through Fat Possum Records, as well as their last tour.
Smoke & Fiction was produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, Foo Fighters). First single “Big Black X” takes stock of the band’s 47-year career, looking back at how things have changed for them and the city where they formed. The accompanying video was directed by Gilbert Trejo and Shane McKenzie, who said it was “inspired by ’80s video art and the great punk documentaries of the time / shot on VHS, edited tape to tape, using Polaroids + 35mm photos, smashed together with analog video mixers and CRT televisions / it’s a tornado of the past and present – Ed Colver’s photos were a blast to video mix and they are the glue holding it all together.”
More from Spin:
Previously Unreleased Eddie Vedder Song Debuts In Season 3 Of ‘The Bear’
Neil Young, Crazy Horse Taking ‘Big Unplanned Break’ From Tour Due To Illness
Exene Cervenka, John Doe, D.J. Bonebrake and Billy Zoom have been touring on and off already this year, including shows in Long Beach, Ca., last Friday, and last night at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, but the ongoing itinerary will be their last as a band. The group will also play Little Steven’s Underground Garage cruise next May.
X’s previous album, Alphabetland, was released in 2020 and was also produced by Schnapf. It was their first with original guitarist Zoom since 1985 and the long-awaited follow-up to 1993’s Hey Zeus!
“We’re not big thinkers; we trust our intuition,” Doe told SPIN at the time. “We didn’t have a theme or have a grand plan. We just wanted to make songs.”
X’s Smoke & Fiction track listing:
Ruby Church
Sweet Til the Bitter End
The Way It Is
Flipside
Big Black X
Smoke & Fiction
Struggle
Winding Up the Time
Face in the Moon
Baby & All
X tour dates:
7/6 – Kansas City, MO – The Uptown
7/7 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
7/9 – St. Louis, MO – Del Mar Hall
7/10 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
7/12 – Minneapolis, MN – The Varsity
7/13 – Chicago, IL – Square Roots Festival
7/14 – Chicago, IL – Fitzgerald’s – SOLD OUT
7/16 – Detroit, MI – The Masonic
7/17 – Kent, OH – The Kent Stage
7/19 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
7/25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
7/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
7/28 – Costa Mesa, CA – Pacific Amphitheatre
7/30 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
8/19 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre
8/20 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre
8/22 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
8/23 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
8/25 – Portland, OR – The Aladdin
8/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
8/30 – Denver, CO – The Summit
9/01 – Albuquerque, NM – The El Rey
9/22 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
9/23 – Boston, MA – The Wilbur
9/25 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
9/26 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall
9/28 – Falls Church, CA – The State Theatre
10/1 – Patchogue, NY – Patchogue, Theatre
10/2 – Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theater
10/3 – New York, NY – Town Hall
10/5 – Middletown, CT – Harbor Park
10/18 – Austin, TX – The Paramount
10/19 – San Antonio, TX – Empire Live
10/21 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
10/22 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10/24 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall
10/25 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
10/26 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
10/27 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
10/29 – Charlotte, NC – The Neighborhood Theatre
10/30 – Columbia, SC – The Senate
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
