X-Ray Pop - Pirate! The Dark Side Of The X French synth punks X-Ray pop have begun to reissue their vast catalog via Finders Keepers' more synth oriented subsidiary Cache Cache. The first offering was Pirate! The Dark Side of X a rare release
only available as a onesided cassette run off in 100 copies on its original release. The husband and wife duo scratch the very corners of the punk / synth axis, with scrappy Casio funk run through jerky contortions and wrapped up with Zouka Dzaza's spacey, detached vocals. This version of the band existed before they'd calmed into a more refined entity and it reflects the immediacy of the day long session that spawned it, feeling frantic and loose and vital. This incarnation of X-Ray swerves Stereolab (before they existed naturally) through the tangled roughs of Devo, Silver Apples and Can territory, biting and snarling with a chaser of French cool. The label has much more to offer from the band but this is a nice starting point to jump into their distorted universe. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE