Comboland Pop (Don Dixon Production) (Never Reissued)

X-TEENS - LOVE AND POLITICS (1984)

 

Part of the early-'80s explosion of Southern power pop, the X-Teens emulated the quirky wit and geeky tension of new wavers like Elvis Costello, XTC, and Talking Heads. The group was formed in Durham, North Carolina. Their debut release was the Don Dixon-produced EP Big Boy's Dream, issued on the local Moonlight label in 1980. Local legends Dixon and Mitch Easter both worked on the band's self-titled first album. The follow-up, 1984's Love and Politics, was the band's biggest seller, even scoring a little MTV airplay with the single "Change Gotta Come." However, that taste of success led to internal tensions, and the X-Teens split up in 1985. 

 

After a long hiatus keyboardist/vocalist Todd Jones-Jones was back in action around 2021 with Mike Nicholson (Bullwinkel Gandhi, Stratocruiser), Alan McGinty (The Stars Explode) and Gary Miller (Shake Some Action!) as what could be called a North Carolina power pop supergroup The Blusterfields (three albums available on Bandcamp).

 

WU (306 mb)