Yeah, the Saints rule. Radio Birdman’s surpassed by few bands dating to punk’s early era. But there’s so much other junk floating around down there. Only problem is – or was at least – was that there wasn’t a good way to expose weird bands to an international audience. X, not the Los Angeles band dummy, released its first long player in 1979, but didn’t have it issued in the States until 1993. So, say what you will about Amphetamine Reptile and its host of like minded bands, the label released this stunner. Who even cares that it was fourteen years too late.
Aspirations, was apparently, put together after X lost its lead guitarist, in his sleep no less, and needed to reign it all in. Apart from the fact that there’s not really a bummer in the pack here, the album was recorded in something like five hours. How’s that for keeping costs low?
Either way, in its new formation, the band basically fell under the auspices of Ian Rilen, the band’s bassist and gravelly voiced singer. Contrasted with groups like the Sick Things, X might be a bit tame. But there’s a healthful dose of destructive attitudes running through the whole album.
Aping something of a more simplistic Subhumans’ stance – the UK version, that is – “Police” ratchets up the politics and vaguely references the Clash in Rilen’s reductive reggae styled bass line. Is the track on par with those better known British stalwarts? Probably not, but there’s not too much work out there matching either of those ensemble’s vitriol. X gets close, though.
A bit further on in Aspirations’ run time, it becomes clear that while X was solidly aligned with the punk scene, most of its compositions spurned any conception of the genre as straight ahead, firestorm chording. Granted, the album’s closer, “Batman” takes on that approach, but the remainder of the disc is far more rhythmically inclined than most other groups from the era.
“Good On Ya Baby” is as much bass as it is melody. But with Rilen’s caterwauling, it becomes a bit difficult to even notice. The persistent bottom end comprising each of these songs sets the band apart from its cohort while still allowing X to remain a tremendous discovery for punkers.