Wild Gift

Wasn't expecting this punk rock gem. A good fit for a Thursday afternoon, post-work slump!

I liked this but I'm not sure if I'd listen to the entire record at once again.

I do love me some vintage punk, but not big on the Rockabilly sound.

A wild, and pretty unexpected gift!

Economical and razor sharp, with a healthy diversification of style and genre for what is essentially a straightforward punk record.

Good

Fun, straightforward, upbeat punk (if ever that was a thing), with a little west coast surf influence at times? Like, I really hear it on “Adult Books”, with those guitar chords and strum patterns. “Universal Corner” highlights the man and woman sharing lead vocal duties super well, they have an excellent vocal dynamic. In fact, everything this band does on the album comes off with such ease, it’s really impressive. “Some Other Time” is my highlight for how distilled and catchy the whole vocal is! But the guitar melody on “White Girl” is a close second highlight too. This one really snuck up on me! There’s just no misses here. Fun jam after fun jam. Really had a great time with Wild Gift!

I find that a lot of X’s songs sound the same. I’ve listened to Under the Big Black Sun and Los Angeles and I liked Los Angeles the best because it was a bit more raw. This just isn’t memorable to me.

Distracted listen because I was on a plane holding a baby, but fuck it — 4 stars.

This was a fun listen. I’d never heard them before but reckon I’ve heard hundreds of bands that were influenced by them.

Really enjoyable. Can't recall any standout tracks but strong all the way through. Very Tony Hawk

It was aight

Wild Gift is very poppy. It’s energetic and overall very good. Despite its poppiness, it still fucking rips. 7.7/10

настоящий панк очень крутые чуваки ДИНАМИЧНО И ПАНКОВО с удовольствием бы на их концерте попрыгала

The gritty, post punk, attitude rock has the elements I enjoy, however I find myself a little bored.

A new discovery for me - started well with Ramones like punk vibes - then got a bit rockabilly and a bit new wavy... enjoyed it. Was going to go for a 3 - but I think it sneaks a low 4.

Wild Gift A short, fun and entertaining punky album that nimbly sidesteps 3 chord thrash, bringing in some very enjoyable surf, powerpop, rockabilly and bluesy influences as well as some nice guitar licks and riffs. It’s full of some great little moments across some very good songs, I love that little bass riff in The Once Over Twice, the almost reggae lope of Adult Books, the chorus of Universal Corner, the riff of It’s Who You Know, the licks and bass of In This House I Call Home, the groove of White Girl, the rockabilly scratchiness of Beyond and Back, the catchiness of When Our Love Passed out on the Couch, the Beach Boys, hanclappy, Chuck Berry powerpop of Year 1. It’s right on the cusp of 3 and 4. It’s definitely a superior version of this type of album, and I can hear its echoes in lots of contemporaneous bands like the Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash, as well as lots of bands that came later, particularly The Strokes. I think I’ll tip to a 4 - I’ll definitely come back to it if I’m in the mood for 30 minutes of very enjoyable and influential punk adjacent fun. ❌❌❌❌ Playlist submission: Year 1

This seems wildly overrated in an Emperor's Clothes type way. That being said it nicely weaves post-punk Talking Heads new-wave, with rock-n-roll and rockabilly riffs. The result is part surf-rock, part new-wave part-punk. Alongside numerous punk bands, it also reminds me of The Cramps, with their psychobilly style. After a few listens I did warm to it quite a bit. It pulls together various alternative rock threads into something deceptively simple. But then - it is literally quite simple, and I'm falling into the Emperor's New Clothes trap. Notwithstanding - an enjoyable album with growth potential; high three.

Actually cool for '81 but nothing crazy

Enjoyed it well enough, even if I found it a little generic.

(Post-)punk with a more traditional rock song structure. It’s quite good and it’s influence is apparent in many more contemporary bands.

I can't give this a 1 because I save that for truly woeful albums I cannot stick but when I tell you this left absolutely NO impression on me... I didn't have a single thought of note during my listen of this. I'm not a fan of punk music, or pop punk, or whatever category of punk this falls into. I just find most of it to be vapid political takes that any 15 year old in sociology could come up with. Oh, the government is bad and we should "question everything?" Is the sky also blue? Anyway, I didn't even get myself to listen to this album close enough to hear if it had any of those lukewarm takes but I'm assuming it did. It wasn't difficult to listen to at the very least but it just made me feel meh more than anything. The guitar was repetitive, the off key vocals grated on me after a while... but it at least didn't give a strong urge to turn it off. I'll give it a safe 2, I think.

This is OK, I didn't hate it, but gotta say not much stood out for me which marks it out as deserving a place in the book so going for 2/5. Don't really understand why it has so many perfect critic reviews either. Oh well, onto the next one

Tämä on hauska, soittajien ilo ja taito kuuluu läpi ja kokonaisuus pidetään silti tarpeeksi yksinkertaisena. Tyylipuhdas, ei yhtään ärsyttävä tai hetkeäkään räimettä vaikka on punkihkoa. Hieno kansi.

Exenen harmonioiden vuoksi tämä kuulostaa aina jossain määrin kokeilulta: soundin vinksahtaneisuus ei ole huonoa asia, mutta haastava kylläkin. Materiaali on enimmäkseen vahvaa, vaikka se vähän hupeneekin loppua kohti. Erityisesti We're Desperate ja When Our Love Passed Out on the Couch ovat biisejä, joita on tullut soitettua. 3+

The first song was kind of interesting I guess, but the rest of the album sounded like that first song over and over. Made for a pretty boring listen. Would not seek this one out again.

The first time I heard a song by X was while playing GTA V a couple of years ago. The song "Los Angeles" is part of the game's soundtrack. And both this song, the album of the same name, and "Wild Gift" have something in common. They are a fierce and fast quickie. The best 4 seconds of a rooster's life. The last dance of a male rabbit. But really, really good! Top-notch punk rock, and that means cheap production, simple chords and played in a quick and dirty way. Damn, this is good...

Did not enjoy, it is not my vibe

Me mola mucho, es como proto-punk mezclado con rock de surferos. Es un poquitín rayante por la voces sin emoción, pero las canciones son cortitas así que no es para tanto.

good punk shit. that’s all i rlly gotta say

la voz femenina en el punk es superior en todas sus formas

me aburrio che

En stram og flink pønk gruppe, med noen velkomne nyveiv og (bittelitt) rockabilly elementer. Det at de veksler mellom kvinnelig og mannlig vokalist gir fin variasjon. Jeg koste meg men syns de mistet driv mot slutten.

Did not know them and I was pleasantly surprised 7/10 Fave: the once over twice

was niiice

I'm delightfully surprised by Wild Gift! I hadn't listened to X before and had some pretty low expectations coming into it. Given that it's an early American punk record, it's surprisingly musical, i.e. it's more than screaming and loud barre chords. There's some elements of 50s rock n roll and flecks of other genres and influences as well. The songwriting is shockingly varied as well. This rocks.

enjoyed this album a fair bit

Do not remember listening to this

Kul att lära känna detta. Stabil punk/rock som jag kan tänka mig återkomma till

This is definitely punk.

A killer punk record. A worthy follow up to their debut

I’ve heard of X, but I’ve never heard of this album before. I’m familiar with the cover of X’s album Los Angeles, and I’ve been meaning to listen to it, but I’ve never gotten around to it. I think I always assumed that X was hardcore punk (I blame the burning X on the cover of Los Angeles), but now that I know they’re not, I really don’t know what to expect from this album. I guess it’s time to open this Wild Gift! If I were rating this album based on just one listen, it would probably be a one-star rating. I was completely unimpressed and bored by my first listen to this album. I thought the songs all sounded the same, and while I appreciated the new wave influence in their sound, it just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. On a second listen, I found myself much more able to appreciate the uniqueness of the guitar playing; it was cool to notice that “Beyond and Back” had some rockabilly influences, and “Adult Books” had some reggae influence, and “White Girl” sounded like Sonic Youth. I still wasn’t in love with this album, but my second listen was much more enjoyable, mostly because I realized that it wasn’t as one-dimensional as I originally thought. I’m not in love with this album by any means, but now I’m not as opposed to the idea of checking out Los Angeles. I think this album is influential and important, but it’s just not really my cup of tea.

Solid rock and roll with some surf punk energy

5 out of 5. Aside from the country sounds (this is a minor complaint) this was a solid album.

High energy enjoyable album Standout songs: The Once over Twice Universal Corner In this House that I call Home

Punk energy and pop smarts - a winning combination.

По мнению А: 3/5 По мнению С: 2/5 ИТОГОВАЯ ОЦЕНКА: 2/5 (18.02.2025)

Adult books is a bop! Like punkier Blondie at first but really all over the place..might improve on many relistens but first impressions are solid

no

Dit klinkt alsof de cast van Glee in hun punkfase zit. Qua instrumenten is de boel echt goed op orde, die kerel kan prima zingen en qua productie is het ook aardig gelikt voor een punkplaat. Vandaar die Glee opmerking. De muziekinstrumenten en ome John doen het dus leuk, maar we ontkomen er niet aan om het even over de zangmevrouw te hebben, want godverdomme zeg. Wat kan zij een partij irritant zingen. Het is waarschijnlijk de bedoeling, dus in die zin doet ze het goed, maar toch. Ze beheerst het verveelde klaagstemmetje tot in de puntjes. Haar stem is zo aanwezig dat je er niet zomaar omheen kunt. Het is wat streng, maar twee sterren voor mij.

A happier little jaunt thru punk.

Not a fan of punk rock, its often just noise and meaningless songs. Universal corner for its riff 2.5

It was fine. It was punk, but not great punk.

4.5

Das Album präsentiert einen unverwechselbaren Punkrock-Stil der Band, der Roots-Rock, Country, Blues, R&B und Rockabilly vereint. Es sind energiegeladene Songs mit unverkennbarer Note. Insgesamt ganz ok aber insgesamt ohne spektakulären Song.

An interesting collection of songs. I had not heard of X and when the first song started I expected a straightforward punk album, but it’s anything but that. Certainly didn’t expect to hear rockabilly. Some of the songs remind me of early Kings of Leon from two decades later, which is interesting (listen to In This House That I Call Home). Pretty good.

Havent heard before, but it was a very nice acquaintance. Exactly why I wanted to do this.

Sehr cooles Punk Album

Gritty but also has rockabilly/bluesy vibes

8/10 X is amazing. Los Angeles should have been here instead but I'm just glad one of their albums made it. 2-4-2025

Not a bad listen.

An interesting album. I liked it but didn't love it. Mashup of influences in a post-punk package with high energy.

I liked this album more than I loved it. Don't get me wrong, this is the first time I've heard anything from this band. I understand that it might be a question of influences, but the album sounded very similar to other bands I've heard before. The fact that it has two vocalists earns some points, but not being able to feel the essence of the band loses me a little.

I don't really care.

A bit annoying

okay sound, seemed like generic punk with not super great production. Probably will not go back to it.

Shite

6.5/10 Highlights: We're Desperate Adult Books

Little dated and simple for me. Still okay though.

nekem ez marhára bejött, szerintem kellően változatos volt de clearly van egy stílus. meglepett, hogy '81-es album. bomba.

Kedvenc/Favourite: Universal Corner Egy-két számban lehetett volna kicsit több energia meg változatosság, de alapvetően tetszett. Jó lüktetése volt. Kellett volna hozzá még egy kis erő, kicsit punkosabban jobban tetszett volna. One or two songs could have had a bit more energy and variety, but I liked it in general. It had a good beat. It could have used a bit more force, I would have liked it a bit punkier.

I liked this. It had some subtle Doors vibes at times with a little rockabilly mixed in - but, still pure punk. You can also hear how this may have inspired the Grunge scene that would come later in the 80s. I liked the mix of male/female vocalists. It made the whole thing a little more interesting. Definitely worth the listen.

Rarely do I find an 80's band worth a damn. Crunchy, fast, and well executed. Super fun album that I will immediately be sharing with my people.

X's Wild Gift is neither wild nor a gift. The album is definitely palatable, and I had no qualms like I do with other grating, noise distortion punk albums. The vocals by Exene are just right for X's style of punk rock. That being said, I wasn't amazed or impressed. I'm not sure I understand this album's inclusion. But hey, props must be given to an album that wasn't a slog to get through unlike that bitch Bob Dylan.

This album was just okay. I don't really think it needs a place on this project, but I was intrigued from a genre perspective. This album advertises being punk and new wave, and while the latter was definitely born from the former, I would say this is an album where I could very clearly hear the influences of both genres. Most of the time, an album is too early to be new wave-y or too late to be punk-y, but in this case, it sounded like both at various points throughout the album.

Punk

Its ok

This is a pretty good punk album, maybe didn't click with me in the same way as a lot of these 5* reviews. Solid 3*

out of the many punk albums I've had to listen to thus far, this is the first one I've heard that is sung by a woman

Pretty good, liked the rockabilly influence. Can't say it stood out for me

An interesting sound, kinda pop punk B-52’s sounding to me. The once over twice was prob the best track. I’m surprised this group wasn’t more well known.

Decent album

Wild Gift is a pretty complex thing for a punk album. Rather than shriek about violence or people who think they're better than you, we get these emotional open wounds. Really raw and seemingly personal, Wild Gift fits the genre by just confronting the ugliness that can happen in relationships. Yet X go far, far beyond genre expectations. They beautify it with their harmonies: frightening, wistful, sad, vulnerable; they decorate it with their musical chops: heavy, dynamic, rootsy. It's so much more than the sum of its parts and there really is nothing else like it. DJ Bonebrake, Billy Zoom, John Doe and Exena have no peers in their genre. MAN I hope the 1001 albums doesn't ignore the better and more influential X debut album.

Not necessarily my cup of tea but definitely pioneering.

Diet The Pretenders. More like somewhere in between The Pretenders and Pixies. Good, fleeting songs. Short and sweet. Standouts: The Once over Twice, Adult Books, It’s Who You Know, Back 2 the Base, and Year 1.

Never realized just how much Courtney Love was imitating Exene Cervenka. Speaking of which, fun fact: Exene was married to Viggo Mortenson. Anyway, this is actually really rad. Enjoyed this a good bit.

ist ok.

Niet zo'n bijzonder album. Kwaliteit van de recording klinkt nogal matig? Kan er ook mee te maken hebben dat het een vrij oud album is natuurlijk, maar het klinkt vrij standaard rock. Sommige stukken klinken best leuk, maar niets waarvan ik echt zeg "Wauw! Dit is vernieuwend! Blij dat ik dít album heb gehoord voor ik doodga zeg!" Het is punk, maar dan niet echt punk? een beetje een saaiere versie van punk, want hoewel ik geen fan ben is punk in elk geval niet saai. FAVO: White Girl

Not my cup of tea.

I would put this in the category of tolerable punk, along the lines of the Clash. Not my favorite but I didn’t hate it. 3/5

Liked this more than I thought I would

I've only ever listened to "Los Angeles" by X and I'm kinda surprised this album is on the list instead of that one. I much prefer that album but this one is still pretty decent. It's not quite as punk as its predecessor. It has some nice tunes but nothing too crazy. I didn't mind this one :) Favorite track: Adult Books

It still sounds “fresh” and is inspiring and worth listening to. The lead singer's voice is also extremely pleasant. Wikipedia writes: „The Hot Chili Peppers song's lyrics mentioned X's John Doe specifically, "whose voice is made of gold".“

Not a fan! Can't even sing...

Its rare i come to an album with zero prior knowledge and when this came up i didnt have a clue what to expect. Turns out if the clash and the b52's had a love child it would sound like that. It slid around the spectrum between these two poles and did it well. Some quite dry punky stuff with a talking heads-esq vocal and some pop punk that bounced along nicely. A real treat

I saw an X show many, many years ago and was blown away. I had only heard a handful of their songs prior to that and didn't follow up much afterward. This was a mistake. I will definitely be taking a deeper dive into their music. Extra half star for the name of the band itself. The letter "X" should only be allowed to represent cool things like a Punk Rock band, a disaffected generation, or pornography. It should not mean "Twitter, but somehow even worse."

I like the songs with Exene at the forefront.

"Wild Gift" is the second studio album by American rock band X. Punk is the genre...yeah, but so much more. The album was produced by the Doors' Ray Manzarek who also played keyboard and produced their first album, "Los Angeles." X is John Doe (vocals, bass), Exene (vocals), Bill Zoom (guitar) and DJ Bonebrake (best name for a drummer ever). The album was critically very well-received with critics calling it a great love and punk album. Commercially, it made it up to #165 on the the US Billboard 200. A fast reverbing guitar and thumping bass introduce us to the "The Once Over Twice." Exene on lead vocals as she describes a guy who ditched her and made her feel hopeless. A searing Bill Zoom guitar solo (and not the last one). They crank up the speed even more on "We're Desperate." A start-stop motion to the music. John Doe and Exene on lead vocals as they state that their life is a mess. A relentless hard driving guitar riff and beat begins "Universal Corner." John Doe and Exene again on lead vocals. Zoom's guitar just crushes on this. Punk rock doesn't get much better than this as they describe a transvestite trying to get help and, well, there's not a good ending for her. The second side begins with "In the House that I Call Home." A melodic bass and more of a rockabilly guitar from Zoom. John Doe describing his chaotic lifestyle. A eerie, creepy and dark guitar starts "White Girl." John Doe and incredibly Exene too on lead vocals as they tell about Doe's relationship with Germ's bassist Loma Doom while Doe was still with Exene. "She's a white girl but I'm living with a white girl." A stone-cold punk classic. Doe and Exene sing that they hate and don't trust each other in "When Our Love Passed out on the Couch." More driving guitar and rhythm section. It's no accident that this song is near the end of the album. And, no, Doe and Exene's romantic relationship did not last. God, is this a great album. 13 short, hard and drving songs in 32 minutes. The music matches the compelling and personal lyrics and vocals as Doe and Exene tell abou their chaotic lifestyle and doomed romantic relationship. Another highlight is Billy Zoom's guitar work - punk, hard rock and with a flair of rockabilly at times. X has a few really good albums but this is the one. Time has not diminished the intensity and quality of these songs.

It's...fine? I definitely didn't NEED to listen to this.

early 80s punk music. these were the original punk rock hooligans that played what they wanna played and gave a big fat middle finger to anyone who didn't approve. the irritated vocals mixed with the harsh, sometimes blunt lyrics make for a pretty solid listen, especially if this genre is for you. i hear some rockabilly influence in here as well...

I enjoyed it overall. Universal Cover is the clear banger out of the whole album.

As a fan of X, I'm not really sure why this album made it onto this list. It's really not great

surprised at how much diverse inspiration this album actually took from, loved the bluegreassy bits that were sprinkled in. yes cocaine and motorcycles

This is actually really rad. Enjoyed this a good bit.

It was ok.

Head nodding tunes. It's okay

Surprisingly decent

Part of the canon for anyone learning about the US punk scene. Full of honest stories from the artists' own lives and a reflection of their own relationship (they were recently married before the release). Has most of my favorite X tracks, with tight instruments, committed vocals, and enough hooks to keep you listening throughout.

I don't hate it, but it certainly comes off as generic garage rock/punk adjacent music. Some songs stood out, but overall pretty flat. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

Punk meets rockabilly, high energy easy enough listen, album is a nice short length

Blah

Obviously, it's due to where I was born and raised, but I always find American Punk a bit tinny and less impressive than British Punk. This album is okay. It was funny to hear the little bit that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers took for Mother's Milk in there. It didn't grab me especially but I might revisit it.

Interested to read that bloke from The Doors produced them, didn’t grab me greatly but might revisit….

Wow, that was very unexpected! I have heard of X but never listened to their music. This was obviously a mistake because this is awesome!

A true creative and innovative unpredictable punk album. Loved it. Better songs are with female singer, lots of influences love the country rock fussion. It was refreshing and its early 80s so very experimental for the time

I wouldn't listen to it but it's good.

This was fine

It's more interesting than some of the bigger name punk acts I've seen, but it's still not selling me on this period of the genre.

Wow, another punk album that's... punk. I can't deal with it.

Wild Girl is the second studio album from X, the LA based punk band. X made a unique version of punk; their work has a basis in rockabilly, in part from guitarist Billy Zoom's (Ty Kindell) previous work. X's distinct sound came, in part, from their two lead vocalists; John Doe (John Duchec) and Exene Cervenka (Christine Cervenkova) shared the role, and the dynamic between them was a distinct part of the band's song. Wild Gift and the band's debut album, Los Angeles, were well known around LA, and made them regionally famous. After this album, X got a major-label contract, and much broader exposure. Wild Gift is a snapshot of the band in a raw, early stage as an influential punk band.

Regift this for sure

Solid punk album but kinda boring

Not for me. Was a bit samey

US punk is not for me. My view is that the best punk bands originated in its birthplace the UK. The one exception is The Ramones but not sure if you could label that punk. More like good short melodic tunes played fast and loud. Never heard of the X before and I could have done with being blissfully unaware of them as this album is one of the worst to pop up on this list. Just shouting over simple guitar chords. I read that the female vocalist is now suffering from MS which I sympathise with but I found her voice so annoying and put me off listening to the album in full. 1/5 8/12/24

Not Bad. Punk/Rock/80s vibe. Exactly as expected.

its fine, short, limited songs, cool chords punk things. favorite songs: some other time, second and third last ones overall around: 6/10

The lead singer is from Decatur! I feel I should misquote The Blues Brothers about Illinois Nazis/punk but in truth I neither love nor hate it…

Another band I should’ve been into, I just couldn’t squeeze ‘em in…I like this album a lot and like I said above…

I've always really liked X and their brand of punkabilly. I don't especially love their songs or albums, but no one quite sounds like them. There's just something in their formula that works for me.

Didn't really vibe with this one. The instrumentals were decent, but the vocal work felt distant and overall forgettable as an album.

没啥想法……？

80's punk/alt rock with folk/rockabilly/Americana influences. It's interesting. Kinda similar in a way to The Damned or Minutemen. Favourite songs: It's Who You Know, Universal Corner, Back 2 The Base, In This House That I Call Home, Beyond and Back, When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch, The Once Over Twice Least favourite songs: Adult Books, I'm Coming Over 4/5

Very rock n roll

Another 100% yelling album. Horrid. No warms. 1/5

Mmm no thanks. I want to like punk more than I do, but when I hear these bands that have the trifecta of: the same fast-tempo beat backing every song, super repetitive themes / melodies, and off-key talk singing... I just can't do it. I'm Coming Over was my least favourite track.

I prefer either Los Angeles or More Fun in the New World.

Rating: 7/10 Very good and fun punk album. Enjoyed the interesting song structures, riffs, and male/female vocals.

I'm very surprised this made the list. It's difficult to nail the punk genre because of the limitations on creativity and skill level (if the songs are too good, they don't sound like punk anymore). This is on the lesser end of punk. Despite being only 32 minutes long, the album feels tedious, there's little sense of album progression other than the surprisingly good oddity track Adult Books, which creates a calmer moment in a long series of frantic and poorly played tunes. The singing is quite bad, particularly the male vocal, which is consistently grating and out-of-tune. The harmonies between the two voices are pretty cool though, if a little simplistic (mostly using perfect 4th and 5th intervals). Other than Adult Books, the strongest tracks are those with guitar "riffs" (really just rhythmic strumming on electric axes) that don't get old within the first minute. These include White Girl and In This House That I Call Home. The drumming is poor throughout, consistently of extremely simple rhythms that showcase little in the way of virtuosity. The bass playing is similar. 2/5 Key tracks: Adult Books, In This House That I Call Home, White Girl

An excellent example of early 80s LA punk with a hint of new wavyness.

Bloody brilliant... Surprised me totally. Five stars and it's going in my Tidal library.

Solid earlyish punk.

Never heard of this. Wow, these have just released a new album this year, and it sounds great! I really like it. Melodic early 80s US punk. Hints of early REM and The Replacements etc. It's bass driven as well. Therefore I'm gonna love it. One of the better new discoveries on this trip.

Fun bops, good energy, and clear talent...but it still doesn't excite me for some reason 🤷‍♀️

Fun and a pleasingly short album. But I think it sounds very much of its time - no bad thing for 1981!

Shouty rock and roll. That is all. Not very good.

Mediocre. The riff in the song "White Girl" goes pretty hard though. Reminds me of some other riff, but can't remember right now.

this album is all over the place, but in a good way. punk, rock, and rockabilly all swirled together in a fantastic mix. some songs with the female singer reminded me a lot of blondie, actually. fun album.

This was alright,

The Once Over Twice 3.3 We're Desperate 3 Adult Books 3.2 Universal Corner 3.6 I'm Coming Over 3 It's Who You Know 3.3 In This House That I Call Home 3.2 Some Other Time 3.1 White Girl 3.7 Beyond and Back 3.1 Back 2 the Base 3.3 When Our Love Passed Out on the Couch 3.3 Year 1 3 Score: 3.238461538

Fun.

Though X come from the hardcore scene this album feels more like post punk before post punk really began. Flashes of country, straight up rock and R&B make appearances too. The guitar licks and hooks are just that little bit special. Best Tracks: We're Desperate; It's You Who Know; In This House That I Call Home

Some standard punk stuff. I swayed from liking it to tolerating it. 2.5/5

I liked only one song, the rest was boring

Average album

troppo dissonante per i miei gusti.

400 albums. Wow. I'm running out of things to say about these milestones. Anyways, here's an album! I wasn't super excited for this, but I still kept an open mind. Fortunately, that payed off! I like this album. I don't love it, but I like it. I'll start with my biggest complaint about the band... the name. X? Seriously? Who named your band, Elon fucking Musk? I jest, of course. X is a punk band. These guys would hate Elon Musk (and rightfully so). While the writing on this album isn't overtly political, you can still feel the punk spirit at the core of this album. This isn't another Undertones situation we're dealing with here. I definitely wouldn't call this hardcore punk, but not everything has to be hardcore punk. There's definitely a slight ska influence, which seems to be a lot more common in punk than I once thought it was. The singing is fun. I like it. The sound is pretty good. I like the sound of other punk bands more, but that's just a personal preference. The tone of this album is very consistent, but because of the varied subject matter and the short album length, I wouldn't call this album repetitive. Overall, this is a solid punk album that I respect. It probably doesn't need to be here, but it also doesn't need to be removed. I'm okay with it being here. High 3/5.

yes

80s kid here myself. An 80s classic album I never knew existed. Feels like I heard something from an alternate universe.

en stark trea, gött punkigt men känns inte direkt som att jag måste höra det här innan jag dör.

80's punk is always solid. this one was a little more than solid. 8/10

Nothing bad about this. Some good ol' fashion rock and roll. like a dive bar band. a little rockabilly. Good garage punkness.

This has to be one of the more masterful punk rock albums I have ever heard. It’s a great 33 minutes that never comes across as repetitive or grating. There’s something about X that gives off a different energy than other punk bands. I kind of get a Sonic Youth / Violent Femmes vibe, probably due to the female vocalist. It’s easy to see why they are considered so influential to the scene. Favorite track: White Girl Other hits: In This House I Call Home, When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch, We’re Desperate, Back 2 The Base

Hmm. In theory, I should enjoy this at lot more than I do in practice. Oh well, maybe I'll check out LA some other time.

Fun stuff, but not exactly groundbreaking.

The kind of punk album I could've sworn I've already heard on this list.

Just some pretty average early 80s punk/alt/new-wave right here. Almost like a worse version of the B-52s and the Ramones teaming up. 4.5/10 (2.25/5)

Album 577 of 1001 X - Wild Gift (1981) Rating : 3 / 5 Nice album. Nice punk...maybe a bit of poppy punk....a little rockabilly thrown in here and there. A good find thanks to the list.

Decent album.

Amazing. Another underrated band.

It certainly was

Enjoyed this rather a lot. A new band on me, even though I’m familiar with a decent amount of punk. I enjoyed the rockabilly influence, too.

Not outstanding to me

Pretty good

How many different songs can one band make over the same backing guitar riff? Well they're all the same song, but the lyrics are kinda different!

This one was pretty fun. I'd never heard of X before, I'll have to look into them more.

This was a fun album that reminded me a lot of the White Stripes, with the exception of being nearly 30 years prior. It still had that post-punk edge mixed with New Wave flare. Universal Corner and Beyond & Back were key tracks.

I like this one more than I thought I would. It was way more pop and melodic tha. I expected. Punk always makes me think it will be noise but this was good. I’ve heard about X for so many years but never actually bothered to listen. I’m glad I did. This will not be in regular rotation but I’m glad I listened to it and would definitely listen again.

They sound like a band at a bar that I definitely did not pay a cover to hear

Feels like I've heard this before. But it's not really memorable; it's kind of generic 80s punk. Kind of forgettable Romones wannabe.

American punk rock group - early 80s. Co female/male lead vocals. Cool sound, sounds a bit similar to the B-52s 3.5

Punk legal!

It was ok.

This is cool. The rockabilly influences much more pronounced than say - the cramps, and the singing and lyrics are far and away better than the rest of the LA crew who were just yelling about depression and aggression. I only know this cause I just watched the decline of western civilizaiton on Prime. Anyway, some real poetryand harmony to be had.

I’m not going to get on my soapbox today; this is a great punk rock record.

Punk band doing an Elvis cosplay or an Elvis impersonator doing a punk cosplay. I can't tell and I'm not sure why I care either way. This is fine, but ultimately it doesn't hold the charismatic charm of Elvis or the edge of punk.

Really enjoyed this. The punky, Blondie-esque tone of much of the album is a big plus. Some tracks are less punk, but more Rockabilly. I'd rather they kept up the punkiness throughout, but this is still a great album. I'd rather listen to them doing rockabilly than listen to an embarrassingly poor imitation of punk such as The Fall produced.

This was pretty generic pop punk. I was listening to the album today as I awaited power to return to the house, and it was pretty average. I couldn't tell you the difference between many songs except sometimes a man would sing, sometimes a woman, often both? I really just spaced out and couldn't be bothered to remember. I don't understand the inclusion of this at all.

There was a fantastic punk band in Sydney called X. I knew there was a US band with the same name, but have never listened to them. Now I have. Pretty good.

good LA punk. Warum habe ich so eine gute Album streak momentan?

I can't see myself returning to this album any time soon, if ever again. But as unmemorable as it was, it was perfectly fine to listen to.

Punk for people who don't like punk?

Hadn’t listened to this band before or known they covered “Wild Thing” for the movie Major League. I like the dissonant harmonies.

Not as interesting musically as it is lyrically. Plain psychobilly that waits until the very last song to really engage you.

I wanted to like this so much more. Not bad, just not my thing. But hey, that's why I'm making my way through this list - to learn about music I wouldn't seek out on my own. For that, it's great!

Hell yeah

I dig the unique sound of X. Every so often one of their songs surfaces in my consciousness and out comes their disk I own. I don't play them often, but never regret when I do.

Some great bass lines on this. Overall I liked this.

interessante, mas não parece nada demais, acho que foi mais por parecer The Distillers, então meio que veio primeiro mas sei lá o mesmo tempo

I’d honestly never heard of X, but I really really enjoyed this.

Thought I was gonna hate this at the start but actually got into it as it progressed

Simple, sort songs with a lot of energy but I didn't really enjoy it and won't be rushing back.

Favorite track: White Girl other picks: the once over twice, I'm coming over

Good beats. Lazy singing but, it's fun to listen to this record.

After a while, this project can get a little flat. Great writing throughout, but never expanded upon. Vocals, instrumentation, and production are all fine. Mostly unimpressed, but definitely entertained. 3/5

would be ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ if they had stuck with the production from the first record but i think they got scared

Mid. Uninspiring

Meh. It's ok

3.5

High energy, very parquet courts

Good. Very nice

Meh

Tuneful enough at times, not enough for a return listen

I love X. That is all.

Interesting alternative rock. I liked the tone of this album, it was fast and fun.

Not bad. Should it be on this list? Probably not

Enjoyed this record. I love songs with male and female voices in them. It’s said that I think something like this wouldn’t see the light of day in current times. Rough vocals and not tightest playing all would have be autotuned and you’d lose the soul of what makes this record great.

The genres they’re mixing aren’t really mixing good example of this is ”White girl” the switch from the verse to chorus is so jarring. However that’s really the only “bad” song and many of the songs put better use to the switches in style 3/5

too soft for my taste. more watered down punk, rather than an original feeling style. i just would rather listen to other post punk/punk artists that have a more distinct or generally harder sound.

A fun pop-punk album! Kind of a unique mix of sounds/styles here, and I think it worked. Good energy, albeit a little more on the polished side than the raw side. I especially liked the female vocalist.

You know what, this was a lot of fun. I liked the rockabilly influence. Sometimes you want some radio friendly rocking

insufrible insoportable inaguantable

Some alright songs but I found it a bit boring to listen to tbh. Never been much into punk though.

I like the vibe and am proud of their trailblazing and all that. Maybe I’m just a dipshit, but I wouldn’t be able to pick this sound out of a lineup, and that’s a must for top scores for me.

Loved this album! The punk vibes were fantastic and reminded me a bit of Sweet.

3.5

I like the music and energy of this punk rock album. But the vocals are not my favour. 2,5

This is an extremely fun record that was clearly very influential on subsequent post-punk.

Yeah it's punk.

Really fun!

Yep. Your whole fucking life might be a wreck, but you are able to make (and enjoy) music. Wild gift? Wild ride. Punk can often be just as fun as snarling and to me this as fun as it gets. The psychobilly aesthetic is perfect Zoom and Doe. Exene and Doe somehow get off the couch.

X (they knew 'X' was cool before Elon) is always hit or miss with me the song and the mood I'm in. Some melodic, some hardcore. If I'm in the mood, great, but otherwise not always persuasive to keep me listening.

I wouldn’t call this punk - I could hear so many styles and kept thinking they were more like the B-52s. Fun!!

I love this album — been a staple since high school, and this isn't even my favorite X album (More Fun In The New World!). Call this punk if you gotta, but there's a lot of musicality going on, and intelligent commentary too. They shoot for an aesthetic and hit it — between the bizarre harmonies (there was one album where Exene thanked her vocal coach in the liner notes and I just found that hilarious), rockabilly shuffle, excellent guitar playing, and great tunes... turn it up.

I think X may be my favorite punk band. I love their harmonies, lyrics, and gift for melodies. The energy is high but the songs are more varied than you find on most punk albums. (Honestly, they may be the least punk of the punk bands, which may be why I love them so much. I bought this as a two-fer (with their debut Los Angeles), so until today, I wasn't sure which songs were on which album. And although I love this one, I think it's the weakest of their first four albums. Still, it's at least a 4. Unfortunately, this is the only X album on this list. I would have chosen Los Angeles or Under the Big Black Sun.

Some silly dilly songs in here! 6/10

This X was worse than XX. This X had some beach boys surfer vibes mixed with some punk rock. This X did not pull off that vibe very well. This X made me want to drink. I am now having a drink.

Another band I had never heard of before. I was halfway through the first listen through before it started to click for me. It got better with each listen. Punk with a wide array of styles thrown into the mix.

Quite enjoyed this one! Feels like they have a very unique style.

I'd never heard of X until now. Nothing spectacular but pretty enjoyable.

3.5

Killer amalgam of punk, blues, rockabilly, and more. Wish more of the 80's sounded like this. 4/5

I enjoyed it more than some punk albums. It's not so "raw" and I probably would have liked it a lot if I heard it when I was a teenager. Now it seems too much for me and I probably won't listen to it again.

eighties so boring

3.5 Weird combination of different genres

I didn't hate this, didn't love it either. Nothing really grabbed me here, and it was all very samey.

Really liked it but shoulda been like 10mins longer!!

x marks the spot

It's not a 5 for me, Los Angeles would probably score that but this is a VERY enjoyable album.

Love it

A feel good punk rock album! Liked this one a lot!

Generic'80s/90s punk. Is all right to listen to but didn't really do anything for me

Eh, this is okay, but the singing is pretty bad, and everyone just seems really bored. There is a weird lack of energy to this album, everyone seems like they are about to fall to sleep. If I had to guess I would have said this album came out 5 years earlier than it actually did. I can't overstate how old this album sounds for 1981 (the same year damaged by Black Flag came out). Also for only being 30 minutes, this album felt like 45. I'm not exactly sure why this album was included, it doesn't sound very good, or that ground breaking/influential. low 3

What did they call it? Post punk? It's not really my thing, but it's at least possible to listen to in the background.

Decent punk album.

Some fun early punk, love that they have male and female singers, and I dig the sound but wish it was a tad harder.

4-5

Adult Books is an early standout to me. I like the play on the 50s riff. Can't shake the feeling that In This House borrows its melody from "Ten Little Indians." Pretty meh on this one -- soft 3 / 5.

Interesting punk album. Never heard of the band X before. Wasn't terrible. Reminded me of blitzkrieg bop. 3 stars

For the most part I like the woman's voice. Has a kind of country/folky tone to it. Sometimes it sounds a bit whiny, but that's on par for punk. Happy with the length of this one. Standard sounding punk that I feel like moves toward a more palatable sound compared to British punk. Maybe started influencing pop punk a bit?

Pretty much a nothing burger here. At least it was only 30 minutes. My favorite song that played was a random one that came up on Spotify by a different band after the album ended and I didn't realize that the album had ended.

Pretty run of the mill but found myself bouncing a few times. Low 3

Another early 80’s punk/alternative album. Meh. Definitely did not need to hear this album before I die.

Liked this one. Easy to listen to and I enjoyed the energy of the band. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again

Kinda samey all the way through

3/5. It's hard to say if I even liked it. I did like some of the songs but to say this is 10/10 like all these critics are saying is a pretty wild choice. I like the punk and the fresh take on it with the mixing of different genres but it's not crazy good. I have to stop looking at other reviews and just take it at face value. This was not bad, but it didn't wow me. Best Song: In This House That I Call Home, It's Who You Know, White Girl

Heard this sort of stuff before, quite bored. For these bands I might just give a blanket 2.

woah! enjoyed it

C'était du bon punk, mais j'ai un peu de misère à voir comment il vient particulièrement se démarquer de plusieurs autres albums punk de cette liste. J'imagine que l'incorporation beaucoup plus flagrante de sons comme le rock ou le blues joue pour un peu d'unicité, mais ultimement je n'ai pas trouvé ça si mémorable, même si c'était un album très agréable à écouter. 6/10

The Good: the musicians know what they are doing The Bad: only 6 songs last less than 2 minutes... The Ugly: the singing Honestly, why is this album on the list? It influenced west coast bands in the '80s? The female singer tries to sing like Blondie, and fails miserably. Maybe they were a wonderful to see live? Maybe... 2** because musically it would be unfair to dish out only 1... but I am writing this upon my first listening, which means I can still change my mind. You guessed it... changed my nind

This album was a pleasant surprise for me. I am pretty familiar with the 1980s, but I had missed this one. As such, I enjoyed it with keen interest. Really nice, tight, sound. And the punk-vibe was refreshing to hear.

Fun stuff! Flying back today and this gave me the adventurous spirit

It's a nice sound. But it gets very samey very quickly

Never heard of this band prior to now and from a little reading it seems they were pioneers ot the LA punk scene and never did get much national or international attention. With this in mind I don't understand their inclusion on this list. At least I can now say I have been exposed to this sub-genre of music...

Fun LA punk. Swift half hour of just classic early west coast punk.

I saw X around 20 years ago and it was around 20 years after this album…still put on a good show, and I still like this era of punk. The 80s really were a fertile ground for interesting music. Love the guitar work here and vocal harmonies.

1. tuuice - 1.5 2. dezperate - 1 3. adult - 1 4. univerzal - 1 5. over - 1.5 6. knouu - 1 7. houze - 0 8. time - 1.5 9. girl - 1 10. beyond - 1 11. baze - 1.5 12. couch - 1.5 13. year 1 - 1.5

Meh

Unremarkable punk/rock with a rocknroll slant. Prob better live

Even though their first album Los Angeles is more iconic, I like this one better. Not sure it's essential. Favorite song: We're desperate.

Der er meget godt gemt her i. Sjovt lyt med god energi, og en kort spillelængde.

Gode punk elementer. Men jeg syntes det mangler noget kant ind i mellem.

I have never heard of this before! I know X’s “Wild Thing” and that’s it. I do like it—feels exactly what early 80s rock should sound like. I like how the lead singers voices sound together. I like what the guitar does on “Adult Books” a lot. Some of the other songs just kinda wash over me. I would definitely enjoy this as a concert but probably wouldn’t choose to listen to this in my own.

I didn't hate it but it got very repetitive for a 38 minute album. I did enjoy the dual singer arrangement.

Fun

I enjoyed this! I have found that I like a lot of the punk rock albums from the 80s that are on this list. They really know how not to waste my time and keep the energy up. I didn't think this was particularly original punk rock music, but it was fun!

there was an initial adjustment period while i mourned that this wasn't X of gonna give it to ya fame, but then it grew on me. belongs on a playlist with early the white stripes, i think

This might have been a 4 if I was more ready for it on a different day. I'm convinced though that I can tell LA-area punk bands from other punk bands of similar timespans and they sound slightly surfer-y, which isn't my favorite.

Hört liknande band tusen gånger tidigare. Gillade Adult books dock.

It's not bad. Good for the time for sure. Not sure I'll listen to it again though

blah punk

Meh

I don’t know how I’ve never heard of this band before. It makes me think of Cherry Bomb era Joan Jett. A lot of their two-part vocals are sung in a monotone or out of tune, intentionally. Somehow, it works. The bass lines are fun and their songs are pithy. I like it. I didn’t listen to the remastered version, but might give that a try. 3.9

Straight forward punk. They work around her voice limitations well with good harmonies. Somewhat melodic, but mostly the same after a while. 3.0

Thrash rock - kinda fun

Excellent! The blend of male and female vox works really well.

Day 27 of listening to 1001 albums, one day at a time. Wild Gift is a sense a really wild album. It’s a punk rock album that doesn’t exactly stick to punk. It takes a lot elements of blues and r&b but I do think this album a fair amount to say. From it talking about the adult book store John used to go to or criticizing Elvis Presley for joining the military. However I think the beginning and end of this album seem to be its strongest and the middle is unfortunately a bit weak. I do still enjoy this album, it’s rare you get to hear a early punk album like this and I liked it.

Mucho estruendo, por lo general no me ha llamado nada. No encuentro nada especial a destacar de este álbum. No he encontrado melodías chulas, entiendo que la fuerza radique más en el mensaje. Aun así no me ha dicho nada en especial. Es corto, lo cuál se agradece.

Hressilegt pönkrokk. Alveg gaman að þessu.

Ooof, really not my cup of pop punk tea.

There’s a few standout tracks on this otherwise middle of the road punk rock record. It’s mostly harmless - which is exactly what a punk record shouldn’t be.