(L-R) Bass player John Doe (born John Duchac), singer Exene Cervenka (born Christine Cervenka), … [+] guitarist Billy Zoom (born Tyson Kindell) and drummer DJ Bonebrake (born Donald J. Bonebrake), of the American punk rock band X, pose for a group portrait on January 14, 1981 at The Old Waldorf in San Francisco, California. Punk rock band X is saying goodbye with one final album, Smoke and Fiction, which brings them to the top 10 on two Billboard charts for the first time. (Photo by Randy Bachman/Getty Images)
After more than 40 years together, punk rock band X is calling it quits. The group members decided to move on to other projects and live their lives, but only after giving fans one last album to enjoy. That set has now become their first major win on a number of Billboard charts, which seems to be a fitting end to a storied and impactful career.
X’s Smoke and Fiction debuts on a pair of rankings published by Billboard this frame. While the set doesn’t quite manage to reach the rock-oriented lists, it did sell well enough to place on several sales-only rosters, which shows that the outfit still claims a sizable fan base.
Smoke and Fiction debuts highest on the Vinyl Albums chart. On that tally, which ranks the bestselling titles in the country on that one format, X’s latest opens at No. 6.
The same project is also new at No. 10 on the Top Album Sales chart. According to Luminate, Smoke and Fiction sold just under 6,500 copies in its first tracking frame of availability.
Smoke and Fiction marks X’s first appearance inside the top 10 on both of those tallies. They’ve only landed on the lists once before, and with a set that nearly reached the highest tier on at least one of the rankings.
In 2020, X pushed their most recent release—until now—onto both the Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts. Alphabetland launched at No. 36 on the former, and it performed even better on the latter, rising to No. 14.
X released their first album Los Angeles in 1980. Throughout that decade, they would go on to drop five more full-lengths, several of which reached the Billboard 200. They established themselves as a powerful force in the punk world before going on hiatus for several decades.
