John Doe (of X) Releases ‘Fables in a Foreign Land,’ an 1890s Moodfest (Listen)

John Doe, of the seminal Los Angeles punk band X, has just released Fables in a Foreign Land, his first release on Fat Possum Records – and it stands among his best solo records. It’s a folk-rock moodfest recalling the nostalgic old-meets-new western sound and feel of bands Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Los Lobos, Calexico, and Doe’s former Band the Knitters.

And Doe’s voice has never sounded better.

Click here to pick up Fables in a Foreign Land on CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pick up Fables in a Foreign Land on LP from our Rock Cellar Store

Doe says: “All of these songs take place in the 1890s. There’s a lot of sleeping on the ground, a lot of being hungry, a lot of isolation. These songs take place alone, wandering, searching and hungry accompanied by horses, not machines. Ultimately, I hope to send the listener to an unknown place with unpredictable characters and let them all live in that foreign land.”

John Doe; photo: Jim Herrington

The 13 songs were born over the past 3 years during backyard jams Doe had with Kevin Smith (Willie Nelson). Smith and Conrad Choucron (drums) join Doe on the album, and guest songwriters include longtime X bandmate Exene Cervenka, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Texas singer-songwriter Terry Allen, and Louie Pérez from Los Lobos.

Here’s the video for “Never Coming Back” – the first single from “Fables in a Foreign Land”

Listen / Stream Fables in a Foreign Land here:

And the album’s track listing:

Never Coming Back
Down South
See The Almighty
Guilty Bystander
There’s A Black Horse
El Romance-0
Missouri
The Cowboy and the Hot Air Balloon
After The Fall
Destroying Angels
Travelin’ So Hard
Sweetheart
Where The Songbirds Live

John Doe; photo: Jim Herrington