Original Sinners

Fronted by L.A. punk goddess Exene Cervenka, the Original Sinners signaled a creative resurgence for the founding member of the seminal punk band X. After X disbanded in the late '80s, Cervenka pursued multiple solo and collaborative endeavors, among them a spoken-word collaboration with Lydia Lunch and two understated folky albums that drew scant critical attention. In 2002 she assembled the Original Sinners with ex-Distillers bassist and vocalist Kim Chi, drummer Mat Young, and guitarists Sam Soto and Jason Edge, issuing the group’s self-titled debut on Nitro Records. The album fused X’s signature discordant vocal harmonies, its fixation on doomed romance amid white-trash settings, and raw aggressive delivery with the alt-country leanings of X’s side project the Knitters, while incorporating the Distillers’ surf rhythms and hardcore guitar attack.