X

Only the boldest artists could get away with a name as simple and provocative as X. Forming in the late '70s, X tapped into the raw ferocity of the Los Angeles punk scene and injected it with some good ol’ rock rebellion. “To me, that was the whole point of punk rock,” singer and bassist John Doe told Apple Music. “Rock ’n’ roll had gotten away from its roots, and from the freedom it represented. We wanted to bring it back.” To start, the band worked alongside The Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who produced their 1980 debut, Los Angeles, and their 1981 followup, Wild Gift, two albums that proved X to be far more adventurous—and poetic—than their peers. Doe and frontwoman Exene Cervenka displayed a blistering chemistry, their vocals rubbing up against each other to create fire, as guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake added fuel to the flames with a thrilling mix of punk, rockabilly, and country. X powered through the rest of the '80s and early '90s with more twang-dipped, hard-rocking heavyweights, including a string of albums that cracked the Billboard charts, like 1982’s Under the Big Black Sun and 1987’s See How We Are. After a 27-year recording break, the band returned with 2020’s Alphabetland, a politically fuelled set that hit as hard as their most influential early works.