X Marks The Spot

If the 20-song compilation of interstellar glam rock Timeless wasn’t enough for sci-fi rock collectors, there’s hope yet. Nearly 35 years after Zolar X formed, they swooped in to return with their second album, X Marks the Spot. While their ability to keep the Martian man costume party going this long is astounding, what’s more intriguing is that nothing has changed since their ’80s album, Zap! You’re Zolarized. They sound (and look, according to the album cover) completely identical to the way they did with the original incarnation of the band. Songwriting is still top-notch and they are as vicarious as they were in their multicolored pixie-wigged heyday. Even the production quality sounds identical. Fans will be pleased as punch that the grown-up version of the band is still singing about laser beams, humanoids, and meteors, and ultimately has stayed true to the original vision of the group. Most importantly, they haven’t lost their ability to craft huge hooks and melodic harmonies, especially on the spacecraft-themed “Retro Rockets” and “Saucers on Sunset.” Even after all these years, they rock as hard they did in the ’70s. It’s almost as if they haven’t aged at all. Perhaps they really are aliens. – Jason Lymangrover