Smoke & Fiction

Smoke & Fiction is the ninth and final studio album by American punk rock band X. It was released on August 2, 2024. The band also promoted this release with the farewell tour The End Is Near,^[2] slated to last into 2025.^[3] The album was preceded by the singles "Big Black X" and "Ruby Church".

Smoke & Fiction
Studio album by X
Released	August 2, 2024 (2024-08-02)
Studio	MANT, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Genre	Punk rock
Length	28:31
Label	Fat Possum
Producer	Rob Schnapf
X chronology
Alphabetland (2020) Smoke & Fiction (2024)

"[Recording Smoke & Fiction] was taxing. I'm not sure we have the will or energy to do another. As for touring, I never want us to be a shadow of what we were, I want us to go out on top."

—X bassist and vocalist John Doe on the decision to end recording and touring^[1]

Reception

Peter Larsen of Los Angeles Daily News called this release "a terrific record... with the band sounding as strong and inspired as ever, its 10 songs harking back lyrically to the band's early history, its sound closely following suit".^[3] Discussing lead single "Big Black X" at Stereogum, Tom Breihan stated that it "flashes back to the freewheeling, rockabilly-infused punk rock of their early records" and that "Exene Cervenka's voice sounds as intense and titanic as ever".^[4]

Track listing

1. "Ruby Church" – 2:07
2. "Sweet Til the Bitter End" – 2:31
3. "The Way It Is" – 3:29
4. "Flipside" – 3:00
5. "Big Black X" – 3:34
6. "Smoke & Fiction" – 3:04
7. "Surreal" – 2:19
8. "Winding Up the Time" – 2:52
9. "Face in the Moon" – 3:04
10. "Baby & All" – 2:31

Personnel

X

• DJ Bonebrake – drums, percussion
• Exene Cervenka – vocals
• John Doe – bass guitar, vocals
• Billy Zoom – guitar, bass guitar

Additional personnel

• Mark Chalecki – audio mastering at Little Red Book Mastering, Los Angeles, California, United States
• Rob Schnapf – production
• Matt Schuessler – audio engineering

Charts

Chart performance for Smoke & Fiction

Chart (2024)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[5]	49

See also

• 2024 in American music
• 2024 in rock music