X strikes a chord with ‘Alphabetland’

The urgent X punk anthem “We’re Desperate” could be playing when John Doe speaks about the impact the novel coronavirus is having on his legendary band. “We have no career or livelihood,” Doe said. “It’s really difficult right now for us and for many (recording artists).”

The laidback vocalist-bassist and his band would have been preparing to start a co-headlining tour with the Violent Femmes slated to start at the end of the month, but the pandemic hit.

“(X vocalist) Exene (Cervenka) said we always make music about the world ending, and it’s finally happening,” Doe cracked while calling from his Austin home. “We will eventually get back out there.”

Doe, 67, will find a way to keep it together. The part-time actor, who has appeared in acclaimed films such as “Salvador” and “Boogie Nights,” has always been the glue for a venerable punk act who is waiting to embark on its 40th anniversary tour.

The physical release of X’s latest album, “Alphabetland,” has been delayed until August since the band, which emerged out of Los Angeles in 1980, can’t tour. However, Doe; Cervenka, 64; guitarist Billy Zoom, 72; and drummer DJ Bonebrake, 64, dropped the album for those streaming.

“We celebrate the fact that our record company encouraged us to put this album out now,” Doe said. “We didn’t want to wait until January of next year to put this album out. We want it to be heard now.”

“Alphabetland” harks back to the band’s early halcyon days. During the early ’80s, X was at the height of its powers thanks to its raw, potent and literate material. “We were just trying to not overthink it,” Doe said. “We were intuitive. I can see how you think it sounds like we did back in the early days.”

Xis filed under punk, but its melodic sound has been infused with country, folk and rock over the years.

The band was punk since it didn’t care what anyone thought. Ray Manzarek was an early fan of the group. X hired the legendary Doors keyboardist to produce its first four albums. It’s difficult to imagine X’s peers, the Germs or Fear, hiring a mellow musician who enjoyed great success during the ’60s to help mold their songs.

“Guys in other punk bands probably saw Ray as just some old guy,” Doe said. “But … we were blown away that he was going to work with us.”

X were such fans they turned the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” inside out. “The first time Ray heard our version of “Soul Kitchen” at (Los Angeles club) the Whiskey, he didn’t realize we were covering a Doors song. His wife, Dorothy, told him, “You know they’re playing your song.” There was no one like Ray. He talked the talk and walked the walk.

“He really embraced all that was mystical. He believed that things happened for a reason. We respected him. When Exene heard the long version of ‘Light My Fire’ when she was growing up, that changed her life. Ray changed our lives when he produced us. He made such a difference to us, especially with our early records.”

The band’s first two albums, 1980’s “Los Angeles” and 1981’s “Wild Gift,” are classics filled with angst-ridden, irreverent and urgent tunes that still stand up today. “Alphabetville” is cut from the same cloth.

Zoom’s rockabilly riffs jump out of the gate and provide a big hook, while Doe and Cervenka’s voices meld during the title track. Cervenka and Doe’s lyrics are poetic, their familiar harmonies are rich, and the rhythm section crackles with energy throughout the album.

X has always been topical and never shies away from offering its views. “Who gets the water / Who gets the wine,” Cervenka sings during “Water and Wine,” which explores the growing divide between the haves and have nots in America.

The album closes with a guest appearance by the late Manzarek’s old Doors bandmate Robby Krieger, who plays slide guitar on “All the Time in the World.”

In 2016, Doe joined Krieger and Doors drummer John Densmore to sing the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” at a tribute concert for Manzarek.

“It was an honor to be part of that,” Doe said. “Who doesn’t want to sing with Robby and (Doors drummer) John (Densmore)? Anyway, Robby called me by mistake (in 2019). I called him up. We started talking, and he asked if he could play on the album.”

Doe, who saw the Doors twice while growing up and tried to sing like the Doors’ Jim Morrison before forming X, invited Krieger to the studio.

“There was no pressure on Robbie, and there was no pressure on us to make this album,” Doe said. “It all worked out.”

It’s only the third X album since 1987’s “See How We Are” and the first by the four original members of the band in 35 years.

“We came together organically,” Doe said. “We did what we felt was right. We didn’t come up with some high-concept album. We weren’t going to make Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” We weren’t going to be pretentious. We just decided to go in and play to our strengths.”

Doe is hoping to tour behind “Alphabetland” by late summer. “We would like to be out on the road by the end of August or the beginning of September,” Doe said. “But who knows what will happen?”

If Doe has his druthers, Spokane will be part of the X itinerary. “We haven’t been to Spokane enough,” Doe said. “I love that Spokane is a cowboy town like Fort Worth is a cowboy town. I like the idea of cowboys.

“I like that Spokane is not Seattle. It’s such a cool place on the east side of the mountains. Spokane has more to do with Idaho than Seattle, and that’s good with me. I hope we can get out and see some of the rest of the country. I can’t tell you how much I miss it.”