X-Tal – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #109

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

# 109: X-tal – ‘An Old Colonial’s Hard Luck Story’ (Alias Records ’90)

Hello friends,

right, you knew this was bound to happen, didn’t you? I mean, just look at the last posts: Wedding Present, Wild Swans, X-Ray-Spex (with their most fragile tune ever, no question about that!) … you have been pampered with the MOR stuff you like so very much – but today it’s obscurity-time again, I’m afraid. And, as usual, I can only give the advice not to skip this just because you don’t know it – it’s extraordinarily good, this! Special, yes, but good – believe me!

X-tal hail from San Francisco, they started out in ’83 and called it a day in ’96. Their story is nothing different to other unknown leftist bands’ sad stories, I’d reckon: many changes in the line-up over the years, one or two tracks on a compilation of local bands, finally an album which only a handful of folk admired at the time.

In X-tal’s case it were a few albums even, five, from ’90 to ’96 to be precise – none of which I ever heard, I’m ashamed to say. Perhaps I should change this, I mean: today’s single is in the box for a reason – because it’s simply brilliant, of course – so who knows whether the albums are not too shabby either?

Anyway, back to the single. Knowing you lot, I can imagine that a song’s lyrics are as important to you as its music. And let’s be brutally frank: is there anyone of you who did not have the lifelong desire to enjoy a song which broaches the all-important issue of the self-pity of Rhodesian exiles?!

Oh well, fear not – your day has finally come, friends: