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Those of us who spent our formative years mooning over the mid-90s American alt.rock scene will find much to love in this second album from Massachusetts’ California X.

With their fuzzed-out guitar, chunky riffs, adorably ramshackle nature and blissful, driving melodies, they find the sweet spot between Dinosaur Jr’s nagging noise and The Posies’ woozy power-pop charm.

They’re not afraid to let things take their own meandering course either, Summer Wall parts one and two spiralling towards the finish line in a haze all of its own. Here, at least, Generation X rides again./o:p

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.