British electro rock band, Fischer-Z are probably best known for their first three, late 70’s/ early 80’s albums, Word Salad, Going Deaf For A Living, and Red Skies Over Paradise, which brought them a growing worldwide fanbase prior to their band leader, and creative genius, John Watts putting the original group on hiatus in 1981, feeling that the they had somehow lost their way. Following a short foray as a solo artist, Watts would reform Fischer-Z in 1987, a cycle which would continue over the years, resulting in a further twelve Fischer-Z studio albums alongside a number of solo projects. 2026 sees the band celebrating their 50^th anniversary with shows running through spring and autumn 2026, and into 2027. To mark the occasion and to celebrate this landmark, Fischer-Z also presents a new album, X-Ray Serenade.

Over the years John Watts has always been an evolving personality with broad views on what life has to throw at him, as well as the rest of the world. From the bands electronic synth pop days during the 80’s through to the 90’s which brought the more straight forward tones of Destination Paradise (1992), and the riff laden Stream (1995) each album displayed Watts gift for chronicling the worlds faults through his own highly emotional lyrics. During the 2000’s he developed more of a singer songwriter, word rich outlook on albums like Swimming In Thunderstorms (2019), and Triptych (2024), as well as moving the band into the world of multimedia art for the ambitious, PUNKT! (2025). X-Ray Serenade returns to the lyric is king approach, bringing together seven new tracks along with four legacy recordings reimagined by the current line-up of Watts, Dave Purdye (bass), Marian Menge (guitar), Olly Newton (drums), and Chloe Leigh (keys). This is one of those albums which on first visit did not fully engage with my ears. Maybe it was me yearning for a return to those early days, or maybe it just wasn’t what I was expecting? However looking deeper, and with continued listens… WOW! Ear Candy Central!

Opening (and closing with the wired-up, “Official Bootleg Mix”) with first single, and the most commercial of the new material, ‘Strings’, I dare you not to be singing along with these words of fake news, and life’s consequences, after a couple of plays. “Its a fact life has strings, no matter how a caged bird sings”. Following tune ‘Perfect’ may be darker but it is no less catchy and is straight from the Johnny Cash school of storytelling. Stripped back to the bare bones, ‘Labadabada’ shows just a hint of the falsetto of old but now with an educated worldliness that must be difficult to balance, before the homage to “the fastest car”, Andy Warhol, ‘Queen of Irony’ putting extra “pop” into the pop artist. ‘Precious Time’ has hints of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ in its piano strains, and ‘River’ flows through with much Tom Robinson attitude within its questioning of plagiarism over influence. Watts has been brow beaten since his early 20’s but you won’t find him posturing and waving a placard or banner when the word within songs like ‘Suburban Cowboy’ can narrate the state of the planet for him. Always down but never silent. If those eight tracks were the end of X-Ray Serenade, I for one would be more than happy… but no, to end we are invited into the reimagined Fischer-Z experience. These four gems are not just acoustic or live bonus tracks, but with the re-working of these historic tunes by the current line-up, they now fit perfectly into the dynamic of this latest collection. ‘So Long’ from Going Deaf For a Living still shows the pain of lost love, and Word Salads’, ‘Pretty Paracetamol’ just can’t shake off the darkness of self medication, but now both lyrics seem to jump further from the speakers and feel even more pertinent in current times. Red Skies Over Paradise supplies ‘Marliese’ which contrasts in both attitude and sentiment with Reveals’ ‘The Perfect Day’ showing the two sides of the love or lust coin, and there it ends. “First impressions often lie.”

There is no doubt that Fischer-Z have grown comfortable in their cult skin, but whichever format you to decide to purchase (CD/vinyl/download/stream), X-Ray Serenade proves that their evolution over the past five decades has produced a partnership (with Watts firmly at the helm) which grabs the twenty-first century by the scruff of its neck to produce highly relevant documents about the world we all inhabit. As they head out on their 50^th anniversary tour, taking in Europe, the UK, and Australia, X-Ray Serenade provides the reasoning behind the bands continued popularity. John Watts and crew have continued to grow with, and challenge their audience throughout their progressive career. Let’s hope they still has a few more stories to tell us. The caged bird continues to sing.

• Reviewed By Peter Brockwell.

• X-Ray Serenade is released via Cherry Red Records on 4^th September 2026.

• Fischer-Z

• Fischer-Z | Brighton | Facebook

Track List:

1. Strings

2. Perfect

3. Labadabada

4. Queen of Irony

5. Precious Time

6. River

7. Suburban Cowboy

8. So Long – Reimagined

9. Pretty Paracetamol – Reimagined

10. Marliese – Reimagined

11. The Perfect Day – Reimagined

12. Strings – ‘Official Bootleg’ Mix